Canada and the US have spoken about a potential deal, while columnist Tony Keller says the US Midterms make a deal more possible. In other Business news: Lenzing is investing US$31M in an Alabama lyocell facility; a French court ordered the shutdown of Fibre Excellence’s Saint-Gaudens mill; Metsä Wood is reviewing the status of its UK operations; Canadian building permits fell 4.1%; US existing home sales hit a new low; and European softwood demand remains weak. Meanwhile: Toronto’s Spring House pairs mass timber with seniors’ care; and the Huu-ay-aht First Nations is facilitating affordable housing in Port Renfrew.
In Forestry news: Forests Canada promotes forest resilience; the David Suzuki Foundation challenges Canada’s sustainability claims; a BC Cariboo Chilcotin forum seeks to boost industry; New York awards $45M for tree nurseries; the Nature Conservancy and USDA fund restoration in Idaho and Wyoming; and a US watchdog says it’s unclear how USDA planned its reorganization. In Bioenegy news: Canada launches a bioenergy awards program; Bend, Oregon opens a wood fuelled energy facility; and US demand for woody biomass is on the rise.
Finally, Sweden’s wooden datacentre may be the world’s greenest.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
Millar Western announced that it will 
Canada needs to build more homes faster and more affordably. That means building homes of all types and sizes, from apartments to multiplexes and townhomes to detached single-family homes and creating the conditions for Canadian companies and workers to help deliver them. Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) and Canadian Wood Council (CWC) have joined the 
OTTAWA — Forestry industry leaders say Ottawa’s historic $6.5-billion funding package will give the sector a much-needed boost but won’t save struggling mills overnight. The federal government’s spending plan announced last week proposes to roll out funding over six years to help modernize aging mills, boost productivity and develop new products. But the money isn’t expected to start flowing until 2027-28, even as U.S. tariffs, weak markets and rising costs continue to threaten jobs and operations across the country. Derek Nighbor, president and chief executive of the Forest Products Association of Canada, called the $6.5-billion commitment “precedent setting.” But he warned that 2027 will likely be another difficult year for the industry as housing starts remain weak and U.S. tariffs persist. The forestry sector has been battered by years of mill closures and layoffs. …Ken Farr, president of the Canadian Institute of Forestry, said he worries the funding may come too late to help some struggling mills.
The Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC) has announced two leadership appointments following the retirement of Vaughan Bassett, who has stepped down as president and director. Gregg Koehler of Sinclar Group/Premium Pellet has been elected president by WPAC’s board of directors, while Yasuhisa (Yasu) Okamoto of Drax has been appointed as a Class A director. … Koehler has been with Sinclar Group since 2002, holding progressively senior positions. He currently serves as sales manager for Sinclar Group Forest Products and sales director of Premium Pellet. A longstanding WPAC director, Koehler brings extensive experience in forest products and wood pellet markets, along with a strong understanding of the association and its priorities. Okamoto is managing director of Drax Asia Japan, where he leads business development and the company’s Tokyo office. He established Sumitomo Corporation’s biomass business in 2002 and played a significant role in developing Japan’s wood pellet market. 
We are excited to announce that registration for the 17th Annual Global Softwood Log & Lumber Conference is officially open! Join us on May 26–27, 2027, at The Sutton Place Hotel in Vancouver, Canada, for this premier industry event. Bringing together industry leaders and professionals from around the world, the conference will provide an excellent opportunity to explore the latest trends and developments in the global softwood log and lumber market, gain valuable industry insights, and connect with key players across the sector. Take advantage of our Early Bird Registration Rates! Secure your spot today! Register now!
The countdown is on! Join us January 13–15, 2027, at the Westin Bayshore in Vancouver as we bring B.C.’s forestry industry together for three days of important conversations, valuable connections and exciting events and special guests! Under this year’s theme, Working Forests. Working BC., the convention will bring together industry leaders, contractors, suppliers, government representatives and forestry professionals to discuss the challenges, opportunities and future of our sector. Your all-inclusive convention pass gives TLA members and non-members access to all convention sessions and events. Individual tickets for Suppliers’ Night, Loggers’ Casino Night and Lunch on the Trade Show Floor are also available for purchase. Don’t Wait – Early Bird Pricing Ends Tomorrow, November 13! Register before the deadline to save $100 on your convention pass. Accommodation at the Westin Bayshore can also be booked through the registration link. We look forward to seeing you in Vancouver!
Food and forestry exports from Wisconsin were on the rise for the first half of the year, despite significant challenges caused by changing tariff policies. Agricultural exports were at the highest level on record for the first half of 2026, totaling more than $2 billion and representing a 5 percent increase from 2025 levels. …Sales to Canada were also down in the first half of the year, though not as steeply. Canada is by far the largest buyer of Wisconsin products, making up a third of all ag exports from the state in 2025. DATCP’s report shows sales were down nearly $16 million in the first half of the year. …But the report did highlight some growth in sales to Canada, including a 71 percent increase in ethanol exports.
Canada’s largest banks and developers are urging Ottawa to help first-time homebuyers with their down payments, relax 
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — Pacific Lumber Inspection Bureau (PLIB) has launched 
Americans have never paid more for a home. The median existing home sold for a record $440,600 in June, according to the National Association of Realtors. Yet the brick house, the kind built to stand for a century, has nearly vanished from new construction. Brick or brick veneer covered just 16.8% of new single-family homes started in 2025, down from almost a quarter in 2012, according to a 
The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities’ September–October newsletter highlights $5.5 million in grants to five organizations working to expand markets for underutilized wood fibre, alongside a $5 million commitment to CRSilva Ventures, a new forest-sector venture capital fund. Additional announcements include $500,000 awarded to develop forest management technology tools and a funding opportunity supporting regional implementation of the Markets Matter Action Plan. The Endowment also launched a Markets Matter progress scorecard and announced the beta release of its Forestry Analytics for Carbon Tracking (FACT) data platform. Other highlights include new online resources connecting landowners with emerging forest markets, and an article by Endowment President Pete Madden advocating greater investment in wildfire prevention through forest management. The newsletter also features Wisconsin Forest Products Week and Beyond the Harvest, a film exploring forest management, wood innovation and opportunities for underutilized fibre.
Flathead National Forest announced the Big Mountain Fuels Reduction Project on Feb. 20. Two months later, machinery was rolling, and timber was being harvested from the slopes at Whitefish Mountain Resort. Now, the project is nearly wrapped up… A two-week public comment period was provided ahead of the 200-acre project, intended to protect the ski resort’s infrastructure from wildfire risk. Deemed by forest officials to not have significant environmental effects and seen as addressing a high-risk area, the project was categorically exempt and authorized as an emergency. It represents just one of many local timber projects that are moving forward more quickly and with a narrower opportunity for public scrutiny following policy changes at the federal level. Locally, foresters say the new rules are generally proving to be more efficient, while conservationists express concern over environmental effects and a rushed public participation process. 
The wildfire season in Washington state is officially over. In 2026, “more than 1,500 fires ignited and nearly 1 million acres burned across the state,” Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove said Tuesday. Earlier this year, the Legislature fulfilled a 2021 commitment to put $60 million into wildfire prevention and forest health, using revenue from the Climate Commitment Act. Upthegrove is asking them to fund it again next year, amid a budget shortfall. “Public safety is a core basic function of government, even in tough fiscal times,” he said. “Without that funding, we are likely to see more fires … and more risks to life and property.” The department uses about half the funding to prepare for the season. That includes training personnel, buying equipment and supplies, Upthegrove said. About $15 million is used for forest health work such as thinning trees and prescribed fire. Another $15 million helps communities develop wildfire defense plans and carry out fuels reduction work, he added. 
A hearing on whether to grant a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction to stop logging in Giant Sequoia Groves in the Sequoia National Forest’s Giant Sequoia National Monument was scheduled to be held today. …A lawsuit was filed by the John Muir Society Earth Island Institute, the Tule River Conservancy and Sequoia Forestkeeper against the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife over the recovery from the 2020 Castle Fire and 2021 Windy Fire. The suit maintains the spotted owl, the Southern Sierra Nevada Fisher and the California Condor are able to survive in the burned areas left by the Castle and Windy wildfires contrary to the position of the management policies which has cleared the way for logging. …The lawsuit also seeks injunctive relief to prohibit further logging in the Giant Sequoia National Monument and that’s what Monday’s hearing was scheduled to be held for.
For decades, the Roadless Rule banned new roadbuilding and logging across millions of acres of national forest land. …Around half of the Tongass in Southeast Alaska has no active roads, an area spanning more than 9 million acres. …the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, said the forest supports Lingit traditions, including harvesting berries and hunting deer. U.S. Department of Agriculture has said rolling back the Roadless Rule would give firefighters access to fight wildfires and remove regulatory barriers. In this part of Alaska, where wildfires are rare, many think that’s an excuse to bolster the timber industry, which has declined significantly since the 1990s. But could the move stimulate a logging boom in the Tongass? “There certainly is a piece that would make some supply available,” said Tessa Axelson, executive director at the Alaska Forest Association, a timber advocacy group. “It is not significant volume that is going to fix the challenges the industry has.”
HELENA — Montana and federal land management officials are expanding their partnership to manage forests and public lands across the state. Gov. Greg Gianforte joined Bureau of Land Management Director Steve Pearce and Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation Director Amanda Kaster at the Montana State Capitol on Monday to sign a new memorandum of understanding strengthening the state’s partnership with the BLM through the Good Neighbor Authority. The Good Neighbor Authority provides a framework that allows state and federal agencies to work together on forest and rangeland management projects. Under the new agreement, the state and BLM plan to increase collaborative work aimed at expanding timber production, restoring forests and watersheds, reducing hazardous fuels and improving wildlife habitat on public lands.
A logger in Vermont recently summed up the industry’s mood to our organization in a single sentence: “I would not encourage my son to get into logging.” That sentiment is becoming increasingly common in the state as diesel costs soar, mills close and operating expenses continue to climb. In late September, diesel fuel surged past $6.50 a gallon nationally, with prices in the Northeast averaging higher in many areas. That increase represents roughly a $3-per-gallon hike compared with January. Multiply that $3 increase by the thousands of gallons of diesel used every month by most logging and forest trucking companies, and it becomes clear why rising diesel costs are unsustainable for an industry that … cannot pass those costs on to consumers. Wood prices are not set by loggers, but by those they work for or sell wood to. …Loggers need relief from high diesel prices soon, because too many in this vital but overlooked industry are running on fumes.
Representatives of the forestry industry have called for a return to conifer planting as part of the next national forestry programme. Forest Industries Ireland (FII) met with Minister of State for forestry Niall Collins to discuss the “urgent need to support Ireland’s forestry and timber sectors”. The group called on the minister to “redouble efforts” on afforestation. FII called for a renewed strategic focus on the commercial timber business, warning that current low levels of afforestation must “at least triple” to sustain the industry’s sawlog supply into the future. According to the industry body, the Irish forestry and timber sector “has become a major domestic business success story”. The sector is worth over €2 billion to the Irish economy, and accounts for over 10,000 jobs, FII said. Irish sawmills process over 1.4 million cubic metres of timber products annually, resulting in €200 million in sawn softwood exports and over €300 million in wood panel product exports.
Renewables are expected to account for nearly 26% of U.S. electricity generation this year, expanding to nearly 28% in 2027, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, released Nov. 10. Renewables accounted for 24% of U.S. electricity generation last year. Biomass is currently expected to account for 1.78% of U.S. renewable electricity generation in 2026, falling to 1.59% in 2027. Biomass accounted for 1.89% of U.S. renewable electricity generation in 2025. The EIA currently expects biomass to be used to generate 20.2 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity this year, falling to 19.6 billion kWh next year. Biomass generation was at 19.6 billion kWh in 2025. 
