Forest Safety Week—delivered in partnership with the BC Forest Safety Council—kicks off today with four stories. They include manufacturing hazard identification and risk assessment; combustible dust cleanup; preventing congestion in forest operations; and prioritizing mental health.
In Forestry news: Nova Scotia moves against the spruce budworm; Alaska faces renewed logging debate; researchers say woodchips may reduce ticks; and the EU delays chemical restrictions for forestry. Meanwhile, an ENGO questions Mosaic’s role in Mount Underwood fire; Lake Tahoe breaks ground on fire and forestry training complex; and new wildfire risk warnings for BC and Oregon.
In Business news: Prime Minister Carney walks a tightrope, as US Trade Rep. Greer says re-shoring manufacturing is key; the American Wood Council and AF&PA support EPA’s new formaldehyde risk assessment; Nova Scotia buildings plan to switch to wood heat; US consumer sentiment hits record low; and what the lumber & gold futures say about the US economy.
Finally, Don Pigott’s latest forestry memoir turns a 1984 cone-collecting expedition in northeast BC into a story of camps, ghost towns, squirrels and colourful characters.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
In sawmill operations, combustible dust can accumulate on equipment, rafters, floors, and production surfaces. If the dust becomes airborne, it can create a serious fire or explosion hazard. Good housekeeping is essential, but some cleaning methods can unintentionally increase risk. One of the most common examples is using compressed air to blow down and clear dust. There are many challenges and risks with using compressed air for blowdown. It doesn’t actually remove dust; instead, it instantly generates a dense dust cloud creating a significant explosion risk. The dust gets redistributed, shifting from one place to another, spreading across machinery, product lines, and other sensitive areas. It can be forced into hidden spaces or up into rafters, making future cleanup more difficult. When hazards like static discharge or sparks combine with airborne dust, conditions for an explosion can develop quickly. …Combustible dust hazards are manageable when dust is prevented from becoming airborne and ignition sources are tightly controlled.
OTTAWA — The Canadian Truck Dealers Association says it needs Ottawa to quickly fix a paperwork problem that will prevent dealers from importing new models from the United States next year, warning it will cause further economic pain if the issue isn’t solved. “If Canada faces a shortage of heavy trucks, the impact will extend far beyond our industry,” said Kevin Disher, the head of the association, at a press conference on Parliament Hill on Thursday. “This issue affects every major sector of the Canadian economy. Shipping, infrastructure, construction, forestry, mining, agricultural. If trucks become more difficult or more expensive to access, those costs move throughout the supply chain and ultimately impact Canadian businesses and households.” The truck dealers said manufacturers have been flagging the issue to the federal government for a year, with little progress. Disher said the problem arose after the United States changed how it certifies emissions standards for trucks built there. 
WASHINGTON, D.C. and OTTAWA, ON — The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), along with others worldwide, shares the commitment to ensuring the health and resilience of forests. The European Union has identified the 
TORONTO – Since 2023, communities across Canada and around the world have been experiencing record-breaking wildfires and working to help restore forested landscapes in their aftermath – but the best practices behind forest recovery in the wake of extreme wildfires are evolving. To better understand the decisions and approaches for post-wildfire forest restoration in Canada, Forests Canada surveyed and interviewed forest managers and tree planting practitioners and is presenting the findings in a report titled Forest Restoration After Wildfire: Knowledge Gaps and Future Needs Analysis. “The aim of the report is to identify how decision-making processes for post-fire recovery are changing in the wake of the increasing intensity and severity of wildfires,” Jess Kaknevicius, CEO, Forests Canada, says. “How are practices changing to maximize the successful establishment of forests…? We know the vast majority of Canadians believe that forests are a vital part of our national identity, so these questions are very important.”
Local residents are being invited to help shape the next decade of local forestry management at an upcoming public open house in Coldstream. The provincial government, in partnership with local First Nations groups, are hosting a joint engagement session on Monday, June 8, to gather community feedback on the development of the tmíxʷ naqscn Forest Landscape Plan (FLP). …The new FLP framework is a legal mechanism designed to replace older Forest Stewardship Plans. Once established by the chief forester, the 10-year plan will govern all timber harvesting, road layout and silviculture activities for BC Timber Sales and local forest licensees across the region’s watersheds. …The finalized FLP will shift the focus toward long-term ecosystem health, addressing critical modern challenges such as wildfire risk reduction, climate change adaptation, old-growth protection, and biodiversity, while maintaining a predictable and sustainable timber supply
ALBERTA — West Fraser says its proposed Mount Tecumseh Harvest Plan would cover 474 hectares and is scheduled to begin in 2026, with the company stating the work is part of a broader approach to sustainable forest management and wildfire risk reduction near communities. In an emailed response to the Crowsnest Pass Herald, Joyce Wagenaar, director of communications for West Fraser, said harvest planning is a key part of the company’s work and allows it to source timber for renewable wood products used in home construction and other purposes. “Harvesting plans are a key component of our work at West Fraser enabling us to responsibly source timber to produce renewable wood products to support home construction and other uses,” Wagenaar said. She said West Fraser views sustainable forest management as an approach that balances environmental, social and economic values over multiple generations. …Wagenaar said questions specifically about the provincial program would be best answered by the Government of Alberta.
Colorado’s top forest health concern is a mountain pine beetle outbreak on the Front Range that has expanded by nearly 150% from 2024 to 2025, according to a Colorado State Forest Service report. The report shows the continued spread of mountain pine beetles and other forest insects during the second consecutive year of above-average temperatures and below-average precipitation. Trees in forests across Colorado are stressed following a record warm winter and low snowpack, and infestations of bark beetles and western spruce budworm are expected to intensify and expand. “Heat and drought are stressing our forests, turning many areas into tinderboxes and making it harder for trees to fight off bark beetles and other insects,” said Matt McCombs, state forester and director of the CSFS. …Trees killed by drought, insects or disease can potentially alter wildfire behavior should there be ignition from lightning or other sources. 
Spain is one of the southern European countries on the front line of climate change as higher average temperatures stoke heatwaves, droughts and forest fires. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez presented what he called Spain’s biggest-ever campaign against forest fires on Thursday after deadly blazes devoured a record amount of land last year. Spain is one of the southern European countries on the front line of climate change as higher average temperatures stoke heatwaves, droughts and forest fires. The country sweltered through its hottest summer on record in 2025, when almost 4,000 square kilometres of land went up in smoke, the highest figure registered by the European Forest Fire Information System. “We will put in place all the resources” available to the government “to mitigate this emergency situation as much as possible and to prevent it happening again on this scale,” Sánchez said at the Torrejón airbase outside Madrid.
The Nova Scotia government has issued a tender to convert five public buildings to wood heat systems — a move one member of the forestry sector says will have widespread benefits. The tender targets heating infrastructure at the Nova Scotia Community College’s Kingstec campus, Roseway Hospital in Shelburne, Digby General Hospital, Soldiers Memorial Hospital in Middleton, and St. Martha’s Regional Hospital in Antigonish. …Successful bidders will also be responsible for procuring the wood fuel. The province stated in the tender documents that it “expects the focus of wood procurement to be from small private woodlots,” stipulating that 100 per cent of the lower-grade primary wood fuel must be harvested within Nova Scotia. …Marcus Zwicker, Forest Nova Scotia, added that requiring boilers to be fed with Nova Scotia product opens up new markets for local forestry contractors and woodlot owners while ensuring cheaper wood cannot be brought in from outside jurisdictions.
According to a new report from Allied Market Research, the global biomass market size was valued at $59.0 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $121.0 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 7.5% from 2024 to 2033. The rapid shift toward renewable energy sources, growing environmental concerns, and supportive government policies are significantly contributing to the expansion of the biomass market across the globe. The increasing focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving energy security is encouraging governments and industries to invest heavily in biomass energy technologies. Unlike fossil fuels, biomass is considered carbon-neutral because the carbon dioxide released during energy generation is offset by the carbon absorbed during the growth of biomass feedstocks. This advantage is making the biomass market increasingly attractive for sustainable energy development. The growing demand for renewable energy is one of the major factors fueling biomass market growth. … Biomass energy provides a reliable and stable source of renewable power…
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Verra are pleased to announce a collaboration that will bring greater transparency and credibility to the voluntary carbon market. Under this new arrangement, Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) issued through Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program can now carry an FSC label when they are generated from forests that hold valid FSC Forest Management (FM) certification. This means that buyers and stakeholders can readily identify carbon credits that come from responsibly managed, FSC-certified forestlands. This means projects that are dual registered under both the VCS Program and FSC FM certification will be eligible to apply the FSC label to their VCUs in the Verra Registry. To qualify, projects must demonstrate full spatial and temporal overlap between the VCS project area and the FSC-certified forest, and must hold a valid FSC FM certificate for the entire verification period.
As cooler, rainier weather has eased wildfire risks in northwestern Ontario, a number of travel restrictions have been lifted in the region. An implementation order was first issued Saturday near a wildfire known as Fort Frances 5 in the Dryden, Fort Frances and Atikokan district, limiting travel and certain activities. On Sunday, a second implementation order was put in place due to a fire called Fort Frances 4 in the same district “to ensure public safety and/or to ensure effective fire suppression.” Both orders were lifted Tuesday evening. “All travel and the use of roads and lakes in the areas previously identified are available and residents may return to their properties. Wildland fire suppression activities are ongoing on Fort Frances 4 and Fort Frances 5, but public safety relating to these fires is no longer a concern,” according to the province’s 
In this latest installment of his memoirs from the seed collection camps of northern BC, veteran cone collector Don Pigott recounts an unforgettable 1984 expedition through the Dease Lake and Cassiar region in search of lodgepole pine cones destined for Sweden’s forestry program. What begins as a straightforward collection job quickly becomes a vivid portrait of life in the north — from remote campsites, mining towns and ghost settlements to colourful characters, First Nations communities, and the ingenious habits of squirrels whose cone caches supplied much of the harvest.