Unifor leadership led more than 1,500 members and supporters as they rallied at the union’s Constitutional Convention in downtown Vancouver to stand up for Canadian workers. “We are going to do whatever it takes to protect Canadian jobs from destruction from Donald Trump,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. …Rally speakers called for action to safeguard industries threatened by ongoing tariffs from the Trump administration. …Unifor Forestry Council Chair Stéphane Lefebvre said there are 200,000 forestry workers across the country, whose union jobs support hundreds of thousands of other jobs and keeps communities thriving. But the industry requires vision and strategy from all governments to lead it. “The US needs Canadian lumber and more importantly, we need Canadian lumber,” he said. “Canada is blessed with an abundance of this renewable resource and with responsible forest management, we can get out of this. We just need (government) vision and strategy.”
To better compete with Canada’s transcontinental railroads, efficiencies within the trucking industry, and to capitalize on a more relaxed regulatory environment, the railroad industry is entering into a consolidation phase with the major operators all reportedly in play. On the heels of the 2023 merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern which connected Canada, the US and Mexico with the first single-line railway, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are pursuing a merger that would create the first coast-to-coast railway system in the US. The tie-up between Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific raised the possibility of further consolidation in the industry with investors eyeing a merger between CSX and BNSF, or with CPKC. While mergers might satisfy shareholders and activist investors, industry insiders see the trend creating more inefficiencies. …Freight Rail Customer Alliance is opposed to further consolidation given that past mergers have resulted in higher transportation costs and unreliable service for customers.
WASHINGTON – US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the USDA has taken the next step in the rulemaking process for rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule by opening a public comment period. …The USDA Forest Service is publishing a notice seeking public comment on its intention to develop an environmental impact statement for the proposed rescission of the rule. The notice details the reasons for rescinding the rule, the potential effects on people and resources, and how national forests and grasslands are managed. The USDA will publish the notice August 29, 2025. …While the rescission would apply to roadless areas in Alaska, state-specific rules for Colorado and Idaho would not be affected by the proposal. In total, the 2025 rescission would apply to nearly 45 million acres of the nearly 60 million acres of inventoried roadless areas within the National Forest System. …The public is invited to comment no later than Sept. 19, 2025. 
We welcome the recent announcement from the White House regarding the US–EU Framework Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair, and Balanced Trade. Notably, the European Union has committed to addressing U.S. concerns about the EUDR, acknowledging that US commodity production poses negligible risk to global deforestation. This recognition is a positive step toward ensuring Southern Pine lumber producers and exporters are not unfairly burdened by regulations that fail to account for the sustainability and stewardship practices already in place within the American forestry sector. …The EUDR’s stringent traceability requirements (such as geolocation data for every plot of land from which timber is sourced) present serious compliance obstacles for U.S. producers. …Recognizing the broad impact of the EUDR across multiple agricultural sectors, the forest products industry is strategically voicing its objections through official trade and commerce channels.
DARLINGTON COUNTY, South Carolina — Monday marked the last day of operation at the Canfor sawmill in Darlington. The mill announced its closure 
Lumber futures have come under strain after the initial tariff-driven upswing has fizzled out and the cracks in the housing market are beginning to show… retreating from an early August high of ~$695 per thousand board feet to about $560, a decline of nearly 19.5%, making it just shy of the 20% mark that would push it into a technical bear market. Lumber futures saw a surge driven by tariffs and optimism over lower interest rates, which pushed prices to their highest levels in more than three years. However, the enthusiasm soon faded away, as recent housing data disappointed, and builders scaled back due to higher input costs, weaker demand and looming affordability challenges. Housing affordability remains stretched even with potential rate cuts, requiring better wage growth or increased supply for meaningful improvement, according to Rafe Jadrosich, Senior US Homebuilders and Building Products analyst.
This study investigates the economic impact of sawmill entry and exits in Michigan between 2019 and 2023, a period marked by ongoing structural changes in the industry, including the closure of several large mills and the opening of smaller or mid-sized operations. Using observed employment changes… we applied an employment-based multiplier analysis to estimate how net sawmill job losses affected the statewide economy. The results show that while only 273 direct jobs were lost due to net changes from sawmill entry and exit during this period, the broader ripple effects were much larger, approximately 820 jobs and $211 million in output loss. These effects were most pronounced in labor-intensive sectors such as logging and transportation, as well as in downstream sectors like wholesale trade and real estate. The findings highlight the central role of sawmills in regional supply chains and states labor markets, with two-thirds of job losses occurring outside the mills themselves.
COQUITLAM, BC — Gregor Robertson, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan), announced an investment of over $6.8 million for two Coquitlam-based businesses that are developing technologies to reduce waste and advance sustainability in the energy and textile sectors. …Novo Textile Company is receiving an investment of over $1.8 million to expand its textile recycling capacity. Novo plans to bind recycled fibres with BC wood pulp fibres to produce Canadian-made textiles at a competitive price. This will strengthen Canadian supply chains and divert 15 million pounds of garment waste from landfills annually. …Novo Textiles was incorporated in 1991 as a supplier of fibre-filled home textiles. Most recently, Novo introduced a textile recycling production line, continuing its evolution within the textile sector. It is estimated that 92 million tonnes of textile waste ends up in landfills annually.
The Danish timber industry is warning of significant financial strain following the introduction of new packaging regulations, which came into effect on 1 January as part of the EU’s packaging directive. According to the Danish Wood Packaging Association (DTE), the rules on extended producer responsibility place the cost burden on manufacturers, even when customers dictate the design and specifications. DTE argues this “uneven” implementation could cost the sector over DKK 60 million annually, with pallet prices expected to rise by around 20%. …The association also criticised the fee structure, claiming it relies on outdated data and fails to differentiate between clean, recyclable wood and mixed wood waste, unnecessarily inflating costs and threatening Danish jobs. DTE is calling for reforms to align payment with design responsibility, adjust fees based on environmental impact, and ensure imported packaging is subject to the same standards.
QUESNEL, BC — The Three Rivers Community Forest (TRCF) is showing how local control can bring fresh ideas to forest management, general manager Nick Pickles told Quesnel council this week. The area-based tenure, signed in October 2024, covers more than 38,000 hectares and is jointly owned by the City of Quesnel and the Esdilagh, Lhtako Dene, and Nazko First Nations. It comes with an allowable annual harvest of about 43,000 cubic-metres of conifer and another 10,500 cubic-metres of deciduous timber, Pickles explained at council’s Aug. 26 meeting. …Pickles said the TRCF mandate is more than just cutting trees. “It’s designed to provide long-term access to forest resources for community benefit. It focuses on local decision-making, stewardship, and sustainable forest use.” Profits are reinvested locally, whether it’s jobs, education, or infrastructure, Pickles added.
Harvesting in North Cowichan’s 5,000-hectare municipal forest reserve (MFR) is considered a primary issue for the rest of council’s term, which ends in October, 2026. On Aug. 20, council voted 4-3 to make harvesting, which hasn’t taken place since 2019, one of its strategic priorities. Coun. Bruce Findlay pointed out that the municipality has received no revenues from harvesting in the MFR for six years, and it may take several more years yet as negotiations with the Quw’utsun Nation on co-management of the MFR continue. …Despite the vote, CAO Ted Swabey advised council that he thinks that it’s unlikely that any harvesting could actually take place before the end of council’s term. …The public engagement aspect of the forest review concluded in early 2023, and the feedback from that process found very strong support for active conservation in the MFR, which would allow for targeted harvesting to provide some income, while restoring and enhancing biodiversity.
Industry concerns have been raised over a freshly-struck agreement between the EU and the US over future trading arrangements, which observers have asserted could lead to America being offered exceptions from complying with EUDR environmental laws, reports Neill Barston. As the Palm Oil Monitor non-governmental organisation noted, if America is to be permitted exemptions from data monitoring underpinning the entire basis of the much-anticipated deforestation laws following intense lobbying from its paper industry, then other trading partners including Malaysia and Indonesia – which have core interests in the supply of palm oils for the confectionery and snacks sector, should be allowed similar treatment. …Moreover, as the palm oil industry organisation stated, unveiling the broader US-EU Trade Framework Agreement presents an immediate major hurdle for the EU Commission. In seemingly offering preferential treatment for America, this could, in its view, lead to challenges from the World Trade Organisation over equal trading between nationalities.
An executive order by Washington Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove has put 77,000 acres of older forests off-limits to logging. …Some local activists call these old-but-not-quite-old-growth stands “legacy forests,” and have resorted to protests, including tree sits and road blockades, to stop them from being sawed down. Upthegrove’s order would also allow logging to go forward on 29,000 acres of those almost-old-growth forests. Some environmental groups praised the move, while others say it greenlights too much logging of the best remaining older forests. …Forest activists still hope to save some of areas slated to be logged over the next five years. …State officials say that timber harvest levels — and the revenue that goes to schools and counties — would be largely unaffected by the executive order. …The Department of Natural Resources has 346,000 acres of structurally complex forests on the 2.4 million acres of forestland it manages.
Ten members of the US House of Representatives’ Committee on Natural Resources are making an unusual visit to Alaska this week during a break from business on Capitol Hill. The 45-person committee deals with a variety of issues pertaining to public lands in the United States, and the visit is giving eight Republicans and two Democrats a chance to put their literal hands on the topics they cover. …Among the group was the committee’s chairman, Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Arkansas, as well as the home-state Republican Rep. Nick Begich. Also attending were Reps. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyoming; Tom Tiffany, R-Wisconsin; Pete Stauber, R-Minnesota; Rob Wittman, R-Virginia; Val Hoyle, D-Oregon; Paul Gosar, R-Arizona; and Sarah Elfreth, D-Maryland. …Several of the Republican lawmakers said they believe there is room to increase logging in the Tongass in order to meet the demand for lumber to build housing, particularly locally.
Oregon’s forestry sector, once the state’s driving industry, has scaled back dramatically, the result of modernization and reduced harvests since the 1990s. Yet the industry is still adding workers and looking to replace retirees — now with a growing demand for technical expertise. The industry’s employers say they’re struggling to fill the jobs they have. Retirements have thinned the ranks, turnover is high and new workers are hard to recruit. Adding to the trouble, a workforce study found the sector will add 3,400 jobs annually through 2030. In particular, the report found Oregon’s colleges and universities aren’t producing enough forestry graduates to meet demand — suggesting Oregon employers might have to recruit from elsewhere to staff some of the highest-paying jobs in a signature sector. It’s a counterintuitive finding for an industry that’s been cutting further in recent months through the closures of mills and factories. Officials say that’s because there’s more to forestry work than logging.
Energy company Drax is under investigation by the UK’s financial watchdog over the firm’s sourcing of wood for biomass pellets in the wake of whistleblower claims. The London-listed group said the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) probe covers more than two years, from January 2022 to March 2024, and will also look at compliance of Drax’s annual reports from 2021, 2022 and 2023 with rules over listing, disclosure and transparency. Drax said it will “co-operate with the FCA as part of their investigation”. Shares in the FTSE 250 firm fell 8% in morning trading on Thursday. It follows accusations by Drax’s former head of public affairs and policy, Rowaa Ahmar, in March that the company had misled over its sourcing of wood for biomass pellets, which were made as part of her claim for unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal. Drax denied her claims. The firm and Ms Ahmar reached a settlement with Drax just over a week after the case opened.
STOCKHOLM — A political fight has erupted in Sweden over whether forest owners should be paid to delay harvesting trees as part of the country’s contribution to the EU’s ambitious carbon removal targets. The EU’s Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) regulation requires the bloc to remove 310 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent by 2030. With Sweden holding the EU’s largest forest area, the country is expected to play a central role in meeting that target. In 2022, the government commissioned a parliamentary committee to explore how to incentivize carbon storage. Its proposal: legally binding contracts offering landowners 400 SEK (~$42) per ton of CO2 if they delay felling their trees for 5 to 20 years beyond the minimum harvest age. …The plan has triggered fierce opposition. The Swedish Forest Industries Federation warns that 7,200 jobs are at risk, with smaller sawmills particularly vulnerable. …Supporters, however, argue that paying landowners reflects the forest’s true value.
Mechanization has reduced fatal injuries for loggers in the northeastern United States but introduced new health risks linked to prolonged equipment use, according to interviews with 29 loggers across New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Participants reported concerns over weight gain, back pain, and cardiovascular risks from extended sedentary work, as well as mental stress from financial burdens and limited access to affordable health insurance. The findings come 
Border Patrol agents arrested two firefighters Wednesday – who they say were in the United States illegally – while they were working to contain Washington state’s biggest wildfire. …The Bear Gulch Fire on the peninsula has already torched almost 9,000 acres in the Olympic National Forest. …The human-caused wildfire on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula has been burning since July 6 and was just 13% contained as of Thursday. …Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said he is “deeply concerned” about the arrests. Washington Sen. Patty Murray said, “Trump has undercut our wildland firefighting abilities in more ways than one—from decimating the Forest Service and pushing out thousands of critical support staff, to now apparently detaining firefighters on the job.” Under the Biden administration, the Department of Homeland Security said it would not conduct immigration enforcement “at locations where disaster and emergency response and relief is being provided” such as evacuation routes or areas where emergency supplies are being distributed.