The BC government announced $90M in tariff support with forest-dependent communities given priority. In related news: BC’s forest critic said mills could close within months; Canada gave Conifex Timber a $30M loan; New Hampshire enacted legislation giving preference to US-harvested lumber; and a First Nation filed lawsuit claims 14% of Vancouver Island. In Wood Products news: a fire demo highlights the benefits of wildfire-resistant construction; and a Long Island charter school showcases mass timber design.
In Forestry/Wildfire news: the pros and cons of BC’s proposed Working Forest Model; the Union of BC Municipalities backs call to ban log exports; BC Timber Sales seeks input on its Robson Valley plan; Murray Wilson responds to criticism of his BC Is Burning film; Ontario invests in Indigenous biomass projects; Quebec’s caribou are at a breaking point; Oregon will return federal forestland to Confederated Tribes; and forester Keith Coulter makes the case for rolling back the Roadless Rule. Meanwhile: the CIF and SFI celebrate National Forest Week; the ILMA WTF? Convention kicks off today; and Peggy McDougall, RPF Ret-SK receives the 2026 Christopher Lee Memorial Scholarship.
Finally, on herbicides: glyphosate’s role in forest management is defended; Bayer’s influence over EPA regulation of dicamba is questioned.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
PRINCE GEORGE — A long-standing Prince George transportation company is preparing for a major downsizing after losing a key forestry hauling contract in the wake of Canfor’s Northwood Pulp Mill closure. Excel Transportation announced it will no longer serve as a hauling contractor for Canfor, a decision the company says stems from the ongoing downturn in northern B.C.’s forestry sector rather than any concerns about performance or safety. “This is one of the most difficult announcements we’ve had to make in our company’s history,” said CEO Annie Horning in a statement. The closure of the Northwood mill earlier this year eliminated roughly 300 Canfor jobs and significantly reduced the amount of wood being moved throughout the region. With less timber available to haul, Canfor reduced the number of hauling contracts it requires and ultimately chose not to retain Excel.
U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria is ordering a temporary pause of the Agriculture Department’s imminent plans to relocate employees across the country. Chhabria 
From capacity shifts and trade flow developments to network disruptions and sustainability innovations, the container shipping landscape continues to evolve at pace. Join Patrick Hore, Global Head of Energy, Chemicals & Raw Materials at Maersk, as he delivers an essential market update on the forces currently shaping global supply chains. In his session, “Latest from the Container Shipping Market: What Do You Need to Know for Your Supply Chains?“, Patrick will explore: Volume trends across key global trade routes; Fleet capacity outlook and what it means for shippers; Current network disruptions and future scenarios; and Technical and sustainability developments transforming container shipping. Whether you’re responsible for sourcing, logistics, operations or strategy, this session will provide valuable insights to help you navigate an increasingly complex shipping environment. Join Patrick Hore and an outstanding line-up of industry experts at the CELCO Conference. 
Annie Dillard, author of the Pulitzer prize-winning book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, died aged 81 at her home in South Wellfleet, Massachusetts, on Tuesday. Maggie Nelson, Dillard’s literary editor, confirmed her death to the New York Times. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, a nonfiction narrative Dillard wrote about the natural world surrounding her mountainous Virginia home, was published in 1974 when the young writer was just 28. The book was an instant critical and financial success, skyrocketing Dillard to becoming one of the most prominent nonfiction writers of her generation. Tinker Creek won the 1975 Pulitzer prize for general nonfiction, and in 1998 it was included in Modern Library’s list of 100 best nonfiction books. …Her work was often compared to Henry David Thoreau, the naturalist about whom she wrote her master’s thesis. [Tree Frog Editor Sandy McKellar adds – Dr. Bart van der Kamp assigned this book as required reading for his UBC Forestry 100 class!]
The Wood Design Manual 2025 is now available in an early release digital format. The latest edition of this essential Canadian reference for designing timber structures is now available for engineers, students and self-learners. The Wood Design Manual 2025 has been reorganized into three volumes to make it easier to find and use the information you need:
For decades, architectural sustainability was dominated by operational performance. Better insulation, efficient mechanical systems, photovoltaic panels, passive solar strategies, and high-performance envelopes became the principal instruments for reducing environmental impact. Those measures remain important, but they no longer describe the entire carbon problem. A building can perform efficiently in operation while carrying an enormous historical carbon burden embedded in its concrete frame, steel reinforcement, glass, aluminum, masonry, finishes, foundations, and infrastructure. Once these materials have been manufactured, transported, assembled, and incorporated into a structure, their associated emissions cannot simply be erased by installing efficient equipment. This is where the concept of material memory becomes architecturally significant. Existing buildings contain not only physical material but also the emissions already invested in producing that material. Retaining a structural frame therefore represents more than preservation. It can function as a form of carbon avoidance.
At Stora Enso’s mill in Varkaus, Finland, recovered cardboard packaging is converted into new fibre raw material. The same fibre can be recycled up to 7 times before it becomes too short and weak for further use. The site contains Finland’s largest recycled-fibre processing facility. Covering approximately 3 hectares, it receives used packaging from households, retailers and packaging manufacturers. More than 95 per cent of paperboard and cardboard packaging is recycled in Finland. However, domestic collections do not provide enough material for the mill, which also imports recovered packaging from Sweden and the Baltic countries. Approximately 20 truckloads of recovered material arrive at the site each day. The compressed bales contain products such as milk cartons, pizza boxes and cereal packages.
Wildfire risk reduction and fibre procurement research trials are ongoing within the Forest Operations Resilience Vertical. The team worked alongside Carrier Lumber Ltd. in Prince George, BC, on a commercial thinning trial assuming different fibre market availabilities, including a baseline sawlog and pulp scenario, a sawlog only scenario, a sawlog, pulp, and biomass scenario, and a sawlog and biolog scenario, where pulp was hauled as biomass to be chipped. A second trial is underway with Vanderwell Contractors in Calling Lake, Alberta, where the scenarios will trial different topping diameters for sawlogs and rat tail recovery, as well as mulching residual material on trails to influence fire behaviour. These trials assist FPInnovations in assessing which alterations to standard commercial thinning practices can influence wildfire behaviour and procure fibre, with cost and productivity data collected alongside wildfire fuel loading metrics. 
Filmmaker Murray Wilson responds to criticism of the documentary’s case for active forest management:
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As the provincial government advances plans to carve British Columbia’s lands into zones where logging and other industrial activities are permitted or barred, a former longtime public servant says he is struggling to not be cynical about what could lie ahead. In August, The Tyee broke the news that the provincial ministries of Forests and Water, Land and Resource Stewardship were proposing to divide B.C.’s vast and spectacularly diverse lands into “working forest,” “multiple-use” and “conservation and protection” zones. The details were included in a leaked internal government email. The zoning exercise is happening as Premier David Eby tells Forests Minister Ravi Parmar to find more trees for companies to log in order to meet a logging target of 45 million cubic metres per year. Forest ecologist Andy MacKinnon, who worked in the Forests Ministry for 30 years, said he worries that the “Path to 45” initiative will drive the zoning plan. 
Mosaic Forest Management is asking recreation users how they find gate and access information for its lands, returning to the public on an issue that surfaced as one of the clearest concerns in last year’s feedback. The survey asks people who camp, cut firewood or spend time on Mosaic’s lands how they plan trips, which apps and maps they already use, and what tools would help most. It is open until September 29, 2026. Mosaic’s lands are private managed forests, working forests where harvesting, road maintenance and hauling continue year-round. Public recreation is offered voluntarily alongside those operations, which means access can change with active work, road conditions and seasonal wildfire risk. Communicating those changes clearly is the challenge the new tools are meant to address. …Recreation users can complete the survey at 
The Province, in partnership with Na̲nwak̲olas Council, has identified the first candidate area to explore a proposed three-zone forest management model in B.C. The B.C. government is working closely with First Nations, along with industry, local governments and interested parties to identify other candidate areas. Candidate areas will be used to explore a three-zone model for public forests that supports a more co-ordinated approach to land use, stewardship and economic priorities that integrate with ongoing planning processes. The intended outcome is to demonstrate how this model can improve predictability for industry, workers, First Nations, local communities and conservation interests
HURKETT — The Ontario government is investing over $1.1 million in five projects that will increase Indigenous participation in forestry and build a stronger, more resilient forest sector. As part its plan to protect Ontario, the government is fighting back against unjustified U.S. tariffs and economic attacks by making strategic investments through the Forest Biomass Program that will support economic development and clean energy projects to help the forestry sector increase productivity and capacity, with the long-term potential to create over 200 good-paying jobs in the sector. …Since launching the Forest Biomass Program in 2023, Ontario has invested close to $5 million in 22 projects under the Indigenous Bioeconomy Partnerships funding stream. The government’s latest investments will build a more resilient forest sector by developing projects with the potential to add annual demand for over 100,000 tonnes of mill by-products and underused wood, known as forest biomass.
A recent 
BILLINGS, Mont. — Killing endangered animals while logging a forest or building a dam would not be considered illegal unless the animals were specifically targeted, under a new interpretation of the Endangered Species Act by President Donald Trump’s administration that marks a sea change in how the landmark environmental law is enforced. A directive sent to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees this week says imperiled animals or plants must be intentionally targeted for their killing to be considered illegal. That’s a sharp turnaround from past practice at the wildlife service… Experts said the change would allow timber companies to log forests in the Pacific Northwest even if they knew that doing so could kill imperiled birds nesting in the trees…. …Under the new law, only people acting directly against animals, such as hunters, trappers, anglers and perhaps pesticide users would need permits, said Sandi Snodgrass, an attorney with Holland and Hart in Denver…
Oregon — U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley and Rep. Andrea Salinas have introduced legislation that would transfer 18,626 acres of federal forestland to the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, a federally recognized tribe in western Oregon, amid concerns from conservation groups about the extent of logging and potential impacts to wildlife habitat. The legislation is part of a larger push by tribes across the U.S. to regain ancestral lands. Such land transfers have been rare in Oregon, where tribes retain only a small fraction of their historic territories. The bill is backed by all seven Democrats in Oregon’s congressional delegation who said it addresses historic dispossession and will allow the tribe to sustainably manage the land and boost economic opportunity in the region. Other supporters are U.S. Senator Ron Wyden and representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Val Hoyle, Maxine Dexter and Janelle Bynum. [A subscription to the Oregonian is required for full access]
The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment) today announced five awards totaling $5.5 million through its Accelerating Wood Fiber Markets initiative. The five-year effort will help connect underutilized wood fiber with new buyers and support the long-term economic viability of working forests and the communities that rely on them. The Endowment committed $5 million to the initiative, with an additional $500,000 provided by the Northern Border Regional Commission through its Forest Economy Initiative to support work in Maine, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont. The funding opportunity drew significant interest from across the country. The Endowment received 76 proposals requesting approximately $86 million, underscoring both the scale of the market challenges facing forest-reliant communities and the demand for practical, locally driven solutions. “These organizations bring deep regional knowledge and practical strategies for creating durable markets,” said Matt Krumenauer, Vice President of Markets at the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities.
Scientists have identified a previously unknown frog species living in the seasonally flooded forests of the western Amazon. Named Adenomera varcena, the species adds to growing evidence that Amazonian biodiversity is even richer than it appears. The discovery also highlights the importance of cryptic diversity, in which animals that look nearly identical can actually belong to separate species. Researchers distinguished the new frog by combining several lines of evidence, including its DNA and distinctive call. The discovery grew out of field expeditions in the Upper Juruá River region of western Acre. Scientists surveyed forest fragments near the Moa and Crôa rivers, close to Cruzeiro do Sul. Confirming that the frog represented a new species required far more than simply examining its appearance. The team compared DNA data, recordings of its calls, body shape (morphology), habitat information, and specimens preserved in scientific collections.
NB Power is pushing ahead with the conversion of its Belledune Generating Station from coal to biomass. A Thursday announcement is expected to reveal the proponents that will supply the repurposed power plant – one of New Brunswick’s largest – with 300,000 tonnes of wood pellets annually. Among them is expected to be a partnership proposing to build a torrefied wood pellet production facility at the Port of Belledune. “Once it’s officially confirmed, we are going to have a plant right at the port,” said Pabineau First Nation Chief Terry Richardson in an interview. “What’s great about this project is it’s Canadian technology, Canadian companies, and First Nations all partnering together.” Brunswick News reported in May on a partnership between Pabineau First Nation, Eel River Bar First Nation, Arbec Forest Products, and Airex Energy, a Quebec company proposing to build a torrefied wood pellet production facility at the Port of Belledune. [A Telegraph-Journal subscription is required for full access]
Our government could do something about climate change, but it refuses. In fact, most elected leaders and political candidates don’t even talk about it. As the fossil-fuel industry increasingly allied itself with Republicans to block climate action over the decades, Democrats became the party more willing to address it. But now, even many Democrats have gone quiet. As the November midterms approach, think tanks and consultants are advising them to avoid the topic global warming because “it is not a priority for voters.” The silence is called “climate hushing,” the strategic choice to avoid talking about global warming to avoid political backlash, polarization or economic anxiety. In other words, our elected leaders should avoid mentioning the huge elephant in the room, even as it gets more dangerous. Hardly an evening newscast goes by today without reports of major weather disasters and millions of Americans under threat of fire, flood, killer heat or other calamity. 
Do forests cool the planet or warm it? It’s a deceptively simple question with no clear answer. The catch is that the same forest can push climate in opposite directions at once. Forests are widely viewed as climate change mitigators—and planting trees as a partial climate solution—because they absorb carbon dioxide. Yet that framing is incomplete. Trees also release reactive gases called biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) that can influence cloud formation, contribute to air pollution, and extend the atmospheric lifetime of methane, a greenhouse gas that can trap about 80 times as much heat as carbon dioxide. …Whether forests cool or warm the planet depends on how BVOCs behave once they leave the foliage. From there, the normal steps of plant metabolism synthesize and release BVOCs. …The Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature estimates BVOC emissions by combining information about terrestrial vegetation with data on environmental conditions that influence emissions. 
