Earlier this year, British Columbia appointed a new deputy minister for the Ministry of Forests. Raised in the heart of the forestry sector, born into the family of a truck logger and growing up in a forestry camp, Makenzie Leine has been tasked with supporting a sector facing significant challenges. …Working with Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar and the ministry team to fulfill a mandate focused on both immediate, short-term improvements and long-term sustainability for the sector, there are a series of deliverables she is supporting. These include increasing value by supporting value-added and innovative forest products; diversifying wood products in domestic and international markets; bringing groups together in forest landscape planning tables to chart a path forward for the stewardship of BC’s forests and forest industry; improving permitting efficiency; and, working toward ensuring a sustainable land base to enable the harvest of 45 million cubic metres a year, while fulfilling the Province’s commitment to old growth.
Easy, right? And all this with the added challenge of combatting the impacts of American tariffs—including those on softwood lumber and other protectionist measures—the price crisis in the timber sector, the impacts of wildfires and insect infestation on supply, and increasing wildfire activity due to impacts of climate change. “We’re in a very unique time right now, and it’s very, very tough,” Leine says. “It’s a time that is probably different than anything we’ve seen. …”I don’t think we can come to the table with the answers. I think we have to come to the table with our own understanding of our accountability and our part in it and work together to figure out how we sort through it, together.” Ultimately, Leine says, it can only be achieved by bringing together industry, First Nations, communities, and other interested parties to work together toward these goals, with government being stewards of the work ahead.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to head to Washington early next week to meet with US. President Trump. …Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, Industry Minister Melanie Joly and Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc will accompany Carney. This latest visit comes as Canadian and U.S. officials try to reach a deal on punishing American tariffs, and as a review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement gets underway. …Over the summer, the U.S. hiked its tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 50%, with Canada imposing a 25% counter-tariff on U.S. steel and aluminum. …The source says next week’s meeting follows weeks of groundwork by LeBlanc, Canadian Ambassador to the US Kirsten Hillman and Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Sabia, with the team being aware the discussions could go sideways.
The Canadian Lumber Trade Alliance (CLTA) issued the following statement. …Luc Theriault, President, Wood Products at Domtar and Co-Chair of the Canadian Lumber Trade Alliance, said “The U.S. government’s decision to impose a further 10% tariff – on top of existing duties of 35% – is disappointing. These measures unjustly punish Canadian producers, while also driving up costs for our neighbors in the US.” …“Canadian lumber does not pose a national security risk to the United States. Our industry directly supports 200,000 jobs and sustains over 300 forest-dependent communities across Canada. We will continue to work closely with the Government of Canada to defend against these unfortunate trade actions and to safeguard Canadian forestry jobs.” …In its recent Section 232 proclamation, the US signaled a willingness to pursue negotiations. The Canadian industry is ready to engage. It is essential that the Government of Canada match this commitment and play an active role in defending our industry.
The United Steelworkers union (USW) is denouncing the latest escalation in Trump’s trade war, following his September 29 proclamation imposing a 10% tariff on Canadian softwood lumber exports to the US. …“For decades, Canadian lumber has supported the US housing market, keeping construction costs down for American families while sustaining good jobs here at home,” said Marty Warren, USW National Director. “Instead of recognizing that reality, Trump has chosen to pursue reckless trade policies that will drive up housing prices in the US and put tens of thousands of Canadian jobs at risk.” …Jeff Bromley, Chair of the USW Wood Council, underscored the toll on workers and communities across the country. “With nearly half the value of every Canadian lumber shipment being siphoned off at the border, sawmills, logging operations and whole towns in Canada are facing devastating consequences.” …The Steelworkers are urging the federal government to respond with urgency and resolve. 
PRINCE ALBERT, Saskatchewan — “It’s taking way too long, and harder than we were hoping, but we have not given up.” That’s the message being delivered by those involved with One Sky Forestry Products‘ OSB mill project planned for Prince Albert. Last week, the Saskatchewan NDP said the mill was the latest in a string of major economic projects delayed or cancelled under a Sask. Party government. …However, a source at the OSB mill project said while they were in somewhat of a holding pattern because of the trade uncertainty with the US, the board of directors had a meeting last week and made the unanimous decision not to cancel or shelve the project, but instead look at ways to move it along. …They added the timing of the project that was supposed to be completed in 2027 and provide 700 jobs, will depend on whether they can tap into financing support sooner rather than later.
Companies reliant on New Brunswick’s softwood lumber industry are bracing for hard times after US President Trump announced new tariffs on Sept. 30. …In a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt pleaded for the federal government to make softwood lumber tariffs a top priority. “In some communities in New Brunswick, one in every 11 workers depends directly on forest products,” Holt wrote. …Ron Marcolin, the New Brunswick vice-president with Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, said the latest tariffs and duties are a big deal in a long-running drama over softwood lumber. …While New Brunswick may largely rely on the American market, Marcolin said Americans also rely on New Brunswick’s products. …”The thing is, too, they realize their product is inferior. Their softwood lumber is not as good as a Canadian stick of lumber.”
ONTARIO — Upper levels of government have reached funding agreements to support the Town of Kapuskasing’s Paper Mill, averting a planned closure and providing what local leaders are calling “a critical step” toward securing the region’s economic future. Kap Paper announced the newfound support in a social media post on Friday evening. “Next week, we’ll be working out the details for a restart plan,” the post said, adding that updates would be shared “as soon as everything is confirmed.” Kapuskasing Mayor Dave Plourde, called the deal a “critical step forward for Kapuskasing and the entire region,” in a statement posted to the town’s social media page. …“We now have a second chance – a window of opportunity to come together, calmly and deliberately, to build a plan for modernization and long-term competitiveness,” said Plourde …“Today, I am pleased to confirm that both the federal and provincial governments have agreed to provide support.”
Much of the federal government shutdown in the early hours of Oct. 1 after federal lawmakers failed to reach a funding deal. If the shutdown persists, work related to federal data reporting, rulemakings and other regulatory initiatives could face delays. Ahead of the shutdown, many federal agencies published contingency plans on how work at those agencies may be impacted in the short term. …The USDA is expected to furlough 42,256 of its 85,907 employees, equating to more than 49% of the agency’s workforce. Data products and website updates offered by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service and Foreign Agricultural Service are among agency activities that are expected to cease during the funding lapse. …FAS also publishes a variety of data of interest to bioenergy producers, including monthly export data on ethanol, distillers grains, biodiesel and wood pellets. FAS also publishes reports that provide insight on foreign markets for biofuels and wood pellets. 
It’s hard to find anything good to say about Canadian forestry stocks right now. Some of the biggest names in the sector have been on a downward slide for the past three years. … But the onslaught of grim news has highlighted some bargains. …Okay, the definition of attractive rests on an assumption that risk-averse investors might not want to embrace just yet: Despite Mr. Trump’s bluster, the US still needs Canadian lumber in a big way to feed its lumber-intensive home construction industry. Says who? The National Association of Home Builders, for one. …Some analysts believe that US forestry companies will struggle to replace Canadian softwood. Ben Isaacson, at Bank of Nova Scotia, estimates that US producers would have to build 50 new mills to become fully independent of Canadian lumber. Just two companies build the specialized equipment required in mills. They would struggle to supply even two mills a year. [to access the full story a Globe & Mail subscription is required]
Lumber futures prices are trading higher after President Trump slapped a 10% tariff on wood imports. Lumber prices have been on a rollercoaster this year, lifted by higher import taxes and tugged lower by the deteriorating housing and construction markets. …Trump’s executive order said the additional 10% tariff, which will also raise the price of lumber from European suppliers like Germany and Sweden, is aimed at protecting domestic sawmills. …Analysts expect the tariff to benefit domestic sawyers and timberland owners, such as Weyerhaeuser and PotlatchDeltic, at the expense of competitors north of the border, who have been losing US market share because of the duties, challenges supplying their sawmills with logs and the abundance of cheap US pine. “Canadian lumber producers’ cash costs should further increase, resulting in capacity closures and a tightening of lumber supply-demand dynamics,” said Michael Roxland of Truist Securities. [to access the full story a WSJ subscription is required]
The softwood lumber trade dispute between the US and Canada, which has led to ever-higher US import duties on Canadian lumber, has lasted for decades. …Canadian lumber has the backing NAHB, which sees lumber tariffs as exacerbating high costs for builders and worsening the US housing affordability crisis. There is currently a “Wall of Wood” in the US, after Canadian producers increased shipments to the US in anticipation of the hike to existing ADD and CVD duties in August. Expectations that a large increase in duties would force the closure of Canadian sawmills, lead to shortages, and a boost in lumber prices, overlooked the current weak US demand for lumber, according to Matt Layman. …As US homebuilders now face additional tariff-driven costs, including a 50% tariff on cabinets and vanities, it’s hard to see the lumber demand situation improving, even if more Canadian suppliers have to curtail production or close sawmills.
Although we are skeptical how effective the C$500 million in “transition” funding will be, the C$700 million in loan guarantees, which are clearly designed as a short-term lifeline for companies to weather the storm, seem pretty meaningful to the Canadian industry at first glance. …If Canadian producers were to simply absorb the incremental duty rate increase, using today’s FOB price for most Canadian softwood lumber and last year’s export volumes to the US translates to a “just pay it” cost of C$1.6-1.7 billion in additional duty payments over the next 12 months. Canadian mill operators are not in a financial position to simply absorb an additional 21-percentage-point increase in duties, so this is an extreme estimate of the true cost. Mills will curtail output rather than continue producing at heavy losses until prices adjust accordingly. Additionally, there is usually some degree of passthrough from the buyer to the seller.
President Donald Trump has reignited debate over the nation’s housing shortage, calling on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to spur a wave of new home construction. Trump accused large homebuilders of “sitting on 2 million empty lots, a record,” and likened their behavior to OPEC’s control of oil prices. …“I’m asking Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to get Big Homebuilders going and, by so doing, help restore the American Dream!” The president’s comments come as housing inventory has rebounded from historic lows in 2022, but builders continue to face limited incentives to ramp up construction. …Since taking office, Trump has made housing a central policy focus, including an executive order for emergency price relief and a campaign to pressure the Federal Reserve for lower rates. …Despite Trump’s calls, the mechanics of how Fannie and Freddie might spur more homebuilding remain unclear. 
President Trump’s latest round of tariffs aimed at wood, furniture and other household furnishings could drive up the cost of building and owning homes, further weighing on an already weak housing sector. Analysts said the steep levies could aggravate the nationwide housing shortage by slowing the pace of new home construction. The higher costs, as well as hefty tariffs on steel and aluminum that went into effect in June, could also dampen any jolt the housing market might have derived as the Federal Reserve begins to lower interest rates. …“These tariffs are really hard to understand given that the president has said to his supporters, ‘I want to bring down inflation, I want to bring down interest rates,’” said Anirban Basu, at the Associated Builders and Contractors. …And there could be ripple effects, including higher prices for home insurance because houses and their components would cost more to replace. [to access the full story a NY Times subscription is required]
FORT MILL, South Carolina — In a major stride towards its ambitious 2030 sustainability strategy, Domtar released its sustainability report. The report, entitled 
The Chemainus River reveals its secrets in strange and unexpected ways. For years, I have wandered the forests near my North Cowichan home in search of the last few ancient trees, finding a few nice specimens here and there. In the heavily logged, 5,000-hectare Municipal Forest Reserve — popularly known as the Six Mountains, an hour north of Victoria — they are as elusive as the last rhinos of Sumatra. With a bit of luck, I hope my persistence may yet pay off. I don’t know it at the time, but my quest will launch me on a journey from the river’s headwaters to its mouth in pursuit of questions fundamental to the Chemainus and its future. How have human activities like industrial logging shaped the river, its watershed, and its salmon? …In my search for answers, I will discover modern challenges that bedevil other B.C. coastal rivers.
Do you remember the hydrological cycle that you learned about in school? Rain and snow fall from the sky. Tree leaves and branches slow the fall of rain. In the spring, snow slowly melts, the melt slowed because trees shade the snow and cool the air. Some of the rain and melted snow infiltrate deep into the ground, aided by the presence of tree roots, to become part of the ground water that flows downhill, slowed by tree roots. …Transpiration from tree leaves, and evaporation from the land, lakes and ocean return the water to the sky and the cycle starts over again. But wait. Remove a major part of the trees from the cycle and what happens? Rain and snow land directly on the ground. Less rain infiltrates the soil and, with no tree roots, what ground water there is flows downhill more quickly.
Roughly 500 years ago in California’s High Sierra, pine cones dropped to the ground and a cycle began. …Half a millennia later, US Forest Service scientists began testing strategies to save these now ancient and massive trees in the little-known area east of Fresno called the Teakettle Experimental Forest. They had plans to light a huge prescribed burn to clear overgrowth next year. But then the Garnet Fire ignited and scorched all 3,000 federally protected acres on its path through the Sierra National Forest. …Scott Scherbinski, a biologist at the Climate & Wildfire Institute, said “It will be a start-over event for this forest.” …Malcolm North, a Forest Service ecologist said…fires with less intensity can be beneficial in California’s fire-adapted landscapes, but the Garnet Fire, when it burned through in September, may have killed most trees and sterilized the ground — making it unlikely the forest can rebound without intervention. [to access the full story a San Francisco Chronicle subscription is required]
MONTANA — With the federal government in a shutdown, the Forest Service has paused much of the wildfire preparation and prevention work it does on its 193 million acres of national forest. A Forest Service contingency plan, current as of Sept. 30, calls for continued wildfire response. But the work necessary to reduce the fuels for massive wildfires, including prescribed burns, is on hold. …“We were told, ‘No ignitions,’” said a Forest Service fire management officer, who didn’t want to be named for fear of losing his job. “‘Don’t even start.’” The cooler, wetter fall season is an ideal time for prescribed burns and pile burning across the West. …Other significant activities will be delayed during the shutdown, including statewide forest inventories, processing special use permits and reimbursing partners like the states and non-governmental organizations that do forest management work with federal funds.
Major agri-food companies including Nestle, Ferrero and Olam Agri have warned that European Union delays to its anti-deforestation law are endangering forests worldwide. The EU last month proposed delaying the launch of its anti-deforestation law for a second time, citing concerns about the readiness of information-technology systems needed to support the law. The delay could postpone the ban on imports of commodities such as palm oil linked to forest destruction for another year. The law faces major opposition from industry and EU trade partners such as the United States and Brazil. EU Commissioner Jessika Roswall said last week the delay was not linked to U.S. concerns about the policy. …Contrary to the EU’s aim of simplifying rules for business, any changes at this stage would introduce uncertainty, annoy shareholders and risk the rules being watered down further, the companies said. The EU deforestation law was due to take effect on December 30.
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has suspended its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Ltd. (APRIL) and its corporate group, effective immediately. FSC was recently informed of serious allegations of violence involving Toba Pulp Lestari (TPL), a member of APRIL’s corporate group, and an Indigenous community in North Sumatra, Indonesia. These allegations, which include reports of attacks on community members, if confirmed, would be contrary to the intent and commitments of the MoU. FSC will consider lifting the suspension if an independent investigation is conducted which identifies the root causes of the conflict, and results in the transparent implementation of corrective measures in line with the Remedy Framework. Failure to demonstrate meaningful progress may lead to the termination of the MoU. 
AUSTRALIA — The Federal Government’s National Bioenergy Feedstock Strategy 
NOVA SCOTIA — Unseasonably warm temperatures proved challenging Monday as the fight against an out-of-control wildfire in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley entered its second week. The Department of Natural Resources estimated that the fire at Lake George had grown slightly in 24 hours to just over 2.8 square kilometres, mainly because of dry and windy conditions. Monday’s forecast for the area near Aylesford, N.S., called for a high of 28 C — the average daily high in the region for October is normally below 15 C. “I can’t believe it — in October we normally get frost and cold,” Dave Corkum, mayor of the Municipality of the County of Kings, said in an interview. “There is some rain in the forecast in a few days and hopefully we will get it.” Despite the conditions, Corkum said there are no reports of damage to structures in the area.