More than 20 US states sued to block President Trump’s new tariffs, as the labour market unexpectedly lost 92,000 jobs last month. In related news: US homebuilders identity forces impacting housing demand; Canada ups training monies for laid-off forestry workers; a Q&A with BC Forest Minister Ravi Parmar on mill closures; and Ottawa is accused of preferential treatment with rail subsidies. Meanwhile: Canfor reports Q4, 2025 net loss; Western Forest Products starts-up new kiln in Chemainus; Roseburg restarts construction on Oregon MDF plant; and Hampton Lumber parts way with CEO Randy Schillinger.
In Forestry news: Canada announced $5.2M for 31 species-at-risk projects; a Quebec firm says activists vandalized logging equipment; Alberta released a new wildfire mitigation strategy; BC ENGOs seek old-growth protections near Revelstoke; and the BC budget includes $30M for FireSmart program. Meanwhile: more pushback on Trump’s Roadless Rule repeal; the US Forest Service plans to increase logging in Montana; and two foresters say conservation plan won’t protect Maine’s forests.
Finally, today’s the last day of early bird rates for COFI’s 2026 Convention.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
March 19, 2026 | 6:30-9 PM | UBC Robson Square Theatre — Experts from the Allard School of Law (Ljiljana Biuković), Vancouver School of Economics (Torsten Jaccard), Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship (Harry Nelson), and Political Science (Stewart Prest) will explore the evolving Canada–U.S. economic relationship and what it means for Canada’s future. As the 2026 joint review of the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) approaches, Canada faces significant shifts in its most important trading relationship. From tariffs on steel to ongoing tensions in British Columbia’s forestry sector, long-standing trade dynamics are being tested and the era of predictable trade and stable multilateral rules may be coming to an end. Policymakers, industry leaders, and people interested in understanding the structural changes shaping Canada’s economic future are encouraged to attend. Panelists will examine emerging geopolitical realities and their implications for Canada, highlighting BC forestry as a case study on how international trade pressures are affecting local industries, workers, and communities.
Portland based Hampton Lumber, one of the nation’s largest lumber manufacturers, confirmed on Thursday that it has parted ways with CEO Randy Schillinger. Steve Zika, vice chair of the Hampton board and its chief executive for 20 years before Schillinger was named to the position in June 2023 has served in an interim capacity since early December, the company said in an emailed statement. [A Portland Business Journal subscription is required to access this full story]
A large B.C.-based mass timber company is receiving $5.5 million in federal funding to expand its production capacity, the government’s latest support for prefabrication as a means to boost housing supply. Castlegar-based Kalesnikoff Mass Timber Inc. is receiving the funding from Pacific Economic Development Canada’s Regional Tariff Response Initiative. The initiative is investing more than $13 million in 10 projects across B.C.’s southern Interior, helping businesses impacted by tariffs, said a March 2 press release. Kalesnikoff is receiving a repayable investment of $5.5 million to help purchase new equipment to make prefabricated housing components used in multi-family housing, schools, daycares and commercial buildings, said the release. Kalesnikoff’s new mass timber facility in Castlegar, which went into operation last year, is ramping up production, said Andrew Stiffman, the company’s vice-president of construction services.
The Rainbow, Jordan and Frisby valleys in British Columbia’s rare inland temperate rainforest are home to endangered species and ancient trees. Two logging companies hold licences to log in the old-growth valleys, while the government agency BC Timber Sales has operating areas there. A 2019 proposal to permanently protect 10,500 hectares in the three valleys as a provincial park has gained renewed interest as Revelstoke city council announced in February that it supports increased conservation of the critically endangered inland temperate rainforest.
The Alberta government has released a new wildfire mitigation strategy aimed at reducing wildfire risk and protecting communities, forests and critical infrastructure across the province. The Alberta Wildfire Mitigation Strategy outlines measures to improve preparedness and strengthen prevention efforts as wildfire seasons become more frequent and severe. Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Loewen said the strategy is intended to help communities better prepare for wildfire and reduce potential damage. …The strategy outlines six focus areas: improving knowledge of wildfire risks, strengthening community and Indigenous partnerships, reviewing legislation and policy, expanding the use of technology and innovation, integrating wildfire mitigation into landscape planning and prioritizing hazardous fuels management.
Prince George is once again surpassing expectations with the sale of two commercial thinning areas in the region, says BC’s forests minister. The sales were made to Freya Logging, a contractor based in Prince George. The total volume between the two sales is 14,005 cubic metres in the West Lake and Greg Creek area. Freya Logging will undertake commercial thinning, a forest management process that removes a portion of trees in a 35-year-old or older stand to create space and provide more light and nutrients for younger trees in the area, while older trees are cut down and sold. The process is also known to decrease the risk of forest fires by reducing fuel loads and increasing forest resilience against pests. BC Forest Minister Ravi Parmar has been a strong advocate for commercial thinning in the province and considers these two sales a milestone for forestry in BC.
More local governments, contractors and First Nations will take on wildfire-risk-mitigation roles in and around their communities thanks to a $30-million investment in training, equipment and FireSmart programs. “Through powerful partnerships with local communities, we’re doing the work to get ahead of wildfire season,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests. “We’re investing in local governments, contractors and First Nations to mitigate the risks of wildfire, protecting people and community. This is how we create jobs, support workers and build more resilient forests, restoring confidence in our sector.” The FireSmart Community Funding and Supports program is receiving an additional $15 million to continue prioritizing core FireSmart activities to protect the most vulnerable communities in B.C. The program is part of B.C.’s Community Resiliency Investment (CRI) program. Along with the Crown Land Wildfire Risk Reduction program, it reduces wildfire risk by funding planning, education, co-ordination and fuel-management activities on publicly owned and Crown land.
The lack of significant snowfall in the mountains around Cowichan Lake could be a problem for water levels during the upcoming dry season, according to Brain Houle, the environment manager at the now closed Domtar pulp mill in Crofton. While Domtar shut the mill down earlier this year, the forest company agreed to continue operations at the weir until the end of 2026. Houle said that while there is still time to accumulate more snow before the winter ends, it is possible that the weather will not bring more snow to the mountains before warm weather begins the annual snow melt. “With the Crofton mill now shut down and water withdrawals from the river significantly reduced, it is even more important to avoid the need to use pumps this year,” …Houle said that a stakeholder meeting was recently held … to discuss water issues related to the Cowichan watershed in 2026, including weir operations.
Canada’s drinking water can remain at risk long after wildfires burn out, according to a 
North Cowichan wants the province to expedite increases to water licences for the Cowichan and Chemainus aquifers. Council authorized Mayor Rob Douglas to write a letter to Randene Neill, B.C.’s Minister of Water, Land, and Resource Stewardship, asking the government to accelerate the licence process at its meeting on Feb. 18. The request came after a presentation by North Cowichan’s engineering director Clay Reitsma on key infrastructure constraints in the municipality. Reitsma said that increased growth and development demands, provincial housing targets, and the recent closure of the Crofton pulp mill have combined to create significant constraints and impacts on North Cowichan’s limited water and sewer servicing, and water-licensing limits. He pointed out that most of Crofton’s water currently comes from the now closed Domtar mill… Domtar has committed to keep the water flowing from the mill’s water systems to Crofton until the end of 2026, but no promises have been made beyond that.
The City of Ottawa says program cuts at Algonquin College could make it harder to recruit workers. An internal city analysis reviewed roughly 30 programs the college was thinking of suspending and ultimately did cancel after a unanimous board of governors vote on Monday. The city found that the elimination of nine programs would affect its ability to hire staff in the future. The programs flagged include: Nursery Operator – Forestry Services, Public Works and Nursery Worker – Forestry Services, Public Works. …The forestry services branch within the city’s public works department relies on graduates from Algonquin’s horticultural industries program to fill nursery operator and nursery worker roles. It also depends on design foundations program graduates for its traffic services branch, which hires sign designers, fabricators and supervisors.
The president of a logging company says anti-logging activists are fuelling a “social crisis” in the Mauricie region by sabotaging his company’s legal and government-authorized forestry projects and he called on the Quebec government to take action to protect workers and restore order. Antoine Langlois, president and founder of Forex Langlois Inc., contacted The Gazette this week to denounce what he and police believe was an intentionally set fire in Lac-aux-Sables last month that destroyed two machines owned by his company. …Sgt. Valérie Beauchamp of the Sûreté du Québec said police believe the fire was set intentionally sometime during the previous night…. Anonymous activists did take responsibility for sabotaging a forest in the same region on Jan. 26. In a statement posted on the Instagram account of a collective called Soulèvements du fleuve, an “anonymous group” said they had inserted metal spikes in trees in the Mékinac forest north of Ste-Thècle.
As retired Forest Service leaders who had the privilege of managing millions of acres of national forests across the West, we understand the importance of stewarding these lands for the benefit of local communities and the nation. Full repeal of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule would undermine trust in agency managers, hinder collaborative agreements, adversely affect resources the public cares about and ultimately restrict efficient land management. Repealing the rule is favored by many of those who opposed it from the beginning or perceive that it undermines effective forest management. …after over two decades of implementation and learning, forest managers and partners know there could be thoughtful improvements to the Roadless Rule. …Rather than seeking to repeal the rule, the Forest Service should meaningfully engage stakeholders to update the rule and improve implementation based on what has been learned over the past 25 years. This will allow future land managers to benefit local communities and the nation.
Across the Front Range, century-old, iconic ponderosa pines span thousands of acres …But over the past three years, that landscape has noticeably shifted. More hillsides are now marked by … signs of a growing pine beetle outbreak, according to the state’s Forest Service lead entomologist, Dan West. “The ability for these small, little insects to work in concert to all attack one tree all at the same time and to overcome the tree’s defenses that have been there for a century is truly staggering,” West said. It only took a few years for these tiny insects, no bigger than a grain of rice, to explode across the Front Range and impact more than 7,000 acres of forested land. Now, Gov. Jared Polis has launched an aggressive response. …Whether the state’s new task force can slow the outbreak remains to be seen. 
The Trump administration is turning to rarely used laws to circumvent environmental restrictions and expand logging in certain Pacific Northwest forests, legal analysts and advocates say. In plans announced in February to expand logging in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest and on federal land in western Oregon … administration is using the 1990 Tongass Timber Reform Act to prioritize logging in the largest national forest in the US, and BLM is citing a 1937 law, the Oregon and California Revested Railroad Lands Act, to do so on its land in western Oregon. Both apply only to specific forests and envision logging as a primary use of those lands. The agencies are using federal laws that “privilege timber harvesting and will use that argument to short circuit environmental protections,” especially at the expense of endangered species, said Andrew Mergen, a Harvard Law School professor who was previously a lawyer at the Justice Department’s Environment & Natural Resources Division.
OREGON — The Pacific Northwest isn’t known as maple syrup country, but a burgeoning syrup industry in Oregon and Washington is trying to change that perception, one gallon of sap at a time. The Northwest’s more temperate climate and more watery maple sap make it harder to make syrup at a commercial scale. Producers can invest in technology, much of it developed in Canada, to improve their harvests, but that means steeper initial investments for farmers, and it doesn’t solve the fact that making bigleaf maple syrup still requires long, grueling hours that producers say can be a barrier to entry. Because of that, the Northwest maple syrup industry has required more effort to get off the ground. But those passionate about local syrup say the delicious, boutique product is well worth the trouble.
In November 2025, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved a 
Welcome to the Wood Pellet Association of Canada’s Spring 2026 newsletter. We hope you enjoy reading it, and we welcome your feedback.