At International Pulp Week in Vancouver, ERA’s Kevin Mason opened with a stark assessment of geopolitical fragmentation and global trade, while Suzano’s Rodrigo Marchi examined shifting hardwood pulp markets and Numera Analytics’ Joaquín Kritz Lara warned of mounting energy shocks tied to Middle East conflict [the event continues with Tree Frog featuring speakers daily]. In other Business news: Kruger to enter nonwovens sector with new line in Trois-Rivières, Quebec; Minister visits Dunkely Lumber’s Saskatchewan mill; Doman reports Q1, 2026 net earnings; and the US seeks to pause court ruling against 10% global tariff.
In other news: BC sees export growth potential in Middle East markets; a Biomass Magazine feature on new potential markets for pellets; COFI secures FII support for forest education; Forsite branches out with with Flyscan partnership; Alberta tests Autonomous Trucking Tech for the forest sector; the US repeal of Public Lands Rule gets pushback; and the US Intertribal Timber Council is shut out of EUDR relief package.
Finally, and sadly, former Rustad Bros. president and BC forest industry leader Jim Rustad has died at 88.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
Students at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) have completed the first year of Canada’s first university-level diploma in wildfire studies, marking a key milestone in a program designed to meet the growing and evolving demands of the wildfire sector.
Wildfire activity is not simply a disruption to forestry work in British Columbia–it has the potential to be a significant occupational hazard. Wildfire smoke and ash can cause respiratory problems, trees impacted by fire can fall unexpectedly and crews could become entrapped by fast moving flame fronts. In recent years, BC has experienced some of the most severe wildfire seasons in Canada. One season alone saw approximately 2.8 million hectares burned, which was more than double previous records and caused widespread evacuations, area closures, and heavy smoke. BC’s forestry sector was significantly impacted, particularly in remote locations that were dangerously exposed to rapidly changing fire conditions.
As wildfires in Canada grow larger, faster and more unpredictable, the challenge facing emergency responders is no longer just putting water on flames, it is understanding what the fire is doing, where it is heading, and how quickly conditions are changing —drones are a critical tool in meeting that challenge.
Building Canada Strong with Canadian Forestry. If Canada is going to capitalize on this moment to build a stronger, more resilient economy, we need to ACT NOW, controlling what we can control and empowering the Canadian sectors that will allow us to shape our own economic destiny. …And as a globally-recognized leader in how we manage our forests, we have a lot to offer the world. But we’re currently weathering a perfect storm — a 45% wall of U.S. tariffs on top of duplicative regulatory inefficiencies here at home. While we have no control over the former, we can control the latter. And government can help. They’ve already identified the known friction points in their “Comprehensive Red Tape Review”. Now we need them to act. By fixing these Made-In Canada Barriers, they can empower sectors like forestry to fortify and diversify our country’s economy while maintaining the high environmental standards that help keep our forests as forests forever. You can EMAIL YOUR MP and call on them to ensure the findings of their Red Tape Review are actioned. 
Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) welcomes the Government of Canada’s announcement today on addressing long‑standing, structural challenges across the country’s transportation supply chains. Reliable, efficient, and cost‑effective transportation networks are essential to the forest sector’s ability to support domestic manufacturing, reach global markets, and sustain jobs in hundreds of rural and Indigenous communities across Canada. “Canada’s transportation system continues to face three fundamental challenges—cost pressures driven by limited competition, infrastructure bottlenecks across key trade corridors, and ongoing labour instability,” said Derek Nighbor, FPAC President and CEO. “Addressing these issues together is essential to reducing costs for shippers, improving system reliability, and supporting long‑term economic growth and jobs across hundreds of forest-dependent communities.” Currently, the forest sector must absorb billions of dollars in freight costs annually, the vast majority of these accruing from rail transportation – representing more than 15% of the sector’s annual GDP contribution and up to 25% of a shipper’s delivered product costs.
On Friday, Energy and Resources Minister Chris Beaudry visited Dunkley Lumber’s Carrot River sawmill, a key facility in Saskatchewan’s forestry industry. Minister Beaudry held discussions with senior officials from the company. “Saskatchewan’s forestry industry is a cornerstone of economic activity in the north, generating thousands of jobs and contributing to strong, vibrant communities,” Energy and Resources Minister Chris Beaudry said. “The Government of Saskatchewan is committed to working with industry partners to strengthen the forestry industry and grow the responsible development of our natural resources.” Dunkley’s Carrot River facility is the largest sawmill in the province, with the company employing more than 400 people combined… In 2024, Dunkley completed a $220 million expansion to the Carrot River sawmill, which increased the facility’s capacity by 75 per cent. “Saskatchewan continues to distinguish itself as one of the most attractive jurisdictions in North America for lumber manufacturing,” Dunkley Lumber Fibre and Sustainability Vice President Dyon Armstrong said. 
In 2008, the B.C. government agreed to provide the Musqueam First Nation with land and money to settle a dispute over the prospective sale of the University of B.C. golf course lands. …As part of a deal valued at $250 million, which involved several parcels of land, including the golf course, and cash, the Musqueam received nearly 14 hectares adjacent to their community south of Marine Drive along the north arm of the Fraser River. …The Musqueam have been in discussions with the province about adding more land, possibly from Pacific Spirit Regional Park, show communications disclosed through a freedom of information request. …Many First Nations in the Metro Vancouver-Fraser Valley-Squamish-Sunshine Coast region are using their existing and newly obtained land holdings for economic development, which can also provide economic benefits outside their communities. …The Squamish Nation has plans for 11 towers and 6,000 units on the portion of lands returned from those taken away from them at False Creek in 1913, 
Statistics Canada says B.C. lost more than 40,000 jobs over the first four months of the year, and more than 11,000 full-time positions last month alone. Premier David Eby says this comes as little surprise, and the explanation is obvious, with a major pillar of the province’s economy continuing to take a beating from a major trade war with the U.S. “Our softwood lumber sector is under huge pressure,” he said. “The tariffs we face are higher than those faced by Russia and Europe when they import wood to the United States. And as a result, Russia and Europe are exporting more wood to the United States than they ever have.” As well, exports from B.C. to the U.S. are down, which is affecting all provinces, Eby says.
BROMONT, QC
Delivered in partnership with COFI member companies, Indigenous organizations, school districts, training providers, and community partners, these initiatives are designed to increase awareness of the many career opportunities available in today’s forest sector. Through guided mill tours, classroom presentations, field tours, and career fairs, participants will gain direct exposure to local forestry operations and the technologies driving the industry, including advanced manufacturing, automation, and digital systems. 
Alberta Forest Week is just behind us – one of those natural moments throughout the year where I take time to pause and reflect on the challenges behind us, the opportunities that lie ahead, and all of the people who make that work possible. This year, I find myself thinking about what it truly means to be part of a forest community. Because at its core, this sector isn’t just about trees — it’s about people. The ones who show up early, stay late, and take pride in work that often goes unseen. The ones who build their lives around the forests, who care deeply about the land, and who understand that what they do today matters for generations to come. …So however you choose to celebrate Alberta Forest Week — whether it’s a walk in the woods, taking a closer look at the products we rely on every day, or simply learning something new — please take a moment to recognize the people behind it all.
In a public alert, the Village of Sayward — located just over 300 kilometres north of Victoria, B.C. — issued a warning to its residents after the grizzly was spotted within the village on May 4. Residents had been seeing the bear in the area around the village in the days leading up to it officially entering the village’s boundary. …While it’s the first sighting of a grizzly on the Island for the year, sightings are becoming more common. …Historically, the Island has not been considered a year-round habitat for grizzlies, says Nick Scapillati, executive director with the Grizzly Bear Foundation. But sightings of the mom and her cubs goes back to 2024 and Scapillati says that due to the small size of the cubs, they wouldn’t have been able to swim over. He believes it could be evidence of the first ever grizzly cubs to be born on Vancouver Island — a sign that grizzlies could be wintering on the Island. 
A new UBC study has found that lands managed by Indigenous Peoples consistently protect forests, biodiversity and carbon stores at levels equal to or greater than government-designated protected areas—yet most of these lands remain inadequately recognized or resourced. The paper analyzed 111 peer-reviewed papers… Three-quarters of those studies found a positive relationship between Indigenous lands and conservation. …The study also highlights a major gap in the research itself: only seven per cent of the 111 papers included Indigenous authors. “This is a significant disconnect,” said Garry Merkel, co-author and director of UBC’s Centre of Indigenous Land Stewardship and a member of Tahltan Nation. “Scientists often find it difficult to accept Indigenous science as legitimate, resulting in academic research that does not fully reflect Indigenous knowledge systems or perspectives. This work will help future research to be more inclusive and respectful in its acknowledgement of Indigenous communities.”
The Bureau of Land Management has repealed the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, commonly referred to as the Public Lands Rule, which put conservation on equal footing with mining, logging, and grazing of public lands. The rule required science-based decision-making, conservation considerations within multiple land uses and a focus on sustaining public lands for the long-term benefit of wildlife and the American people. “Today’s repeal of the Public Lands Rule abandons progress at the same moment climate change, chronic drought and accelerating habitat loss demand better stewardship from BLM,” said Maddy Munson, senior planning and policy specialist for federal lands at Defenders of Wildlife. …“This fits a pattern of brazen attempts to sell off and sell out our shared public lands at the expense of public access and conservation,” added Beau Kiklis, associate director of energy and landscape conservation at the National Parks Conservation Association.
LAKE TAHOE BASIN, Calif. – A yearlong investigation by Mother Jones is casting new scrutiny on the use of glyphosate in California forests at the same time the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit plans to use the controversial herbicide across thousands of acres in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Glyphosate, commonly sold under the brand name Roundup, is widely used to kill shrubs and hardwood vegetation that compete with replanted conifers after fires and logging operations. However, the herbicide has long been controversial. In 2015, the cancer research arm of the World Health Organization classified glyphosate as a “probable carcinogen,” and manufacturer Bayer has paid more than $12 billion in settlements tied to lawsuits alleging the herbicide caused cancer.
The American Forest Resource Council warns that Washington’s Department of Natural Resources is headed for deep budget trouble that will result in state worker layoffs and force taxpayers to foot more of the bill to keep the agency running. Counties that rely on logging revenue from land the agency manages could be at financial risk, too. While it’s become common for the group to clash with the department, they’re not the only ones complaining. Foresters inside the agency are pointing to Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove’s decision to pause some timber sales for eight months as a reason for the looming deficit in a key operating account, which covers many of the department’s expenses for managing timberland. …Upthegrove and other agency leadership say … it has less to do with recent timber sale activity on state land and more to do with the timing of when logging revenue reaches the agency. 
Oregon’s congressional Democrats on Wednesday warned that federal agencies tasked with helping prevent and fight fires in the Northwest could be understaffed and underprepared going into the 2026 fire season. Oregon’s U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, Jeff Merkley, and Portland and Willamette Valley-area U.S. Reps. Suzanne Bonamici and Andrea Salinas left a Wednesday wildfire season briefing at the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center in Portland with “deep concerns” about federal agencies’ capacity to respond to what’s expected to be a long and severe fire season in the region. The center is the headquarters for a wildfire prevention and response network that includes nine state and federal agencies across the West. The lawmakers said budget cuts and the loss of staff at federal science and land management agencies — especially at the U.S. Forest Service, tasked with the largest share of federal wildland fire prevention and response — have created needless uncertainty and chaos.
For the last few decades, the working assumption in European fire management was geographic: the real threat lives at lower elevations. In countries like Greece, Portugal, and Spain, the threat was tied to parched lowlands, flammable scrub, and summer drought. The Alps, Pyrenees, and Carpathians sat above the areas at risk, written off as too cold and wet to carry serious fires. A 25-year satellite record now challenges that assumption. Tracking fires across eight European mountain ranges, researchers found flames climbing the slopes at a steady rate — and the pace has picked up sharply since 2015. A team led by Dr. Mirela Beloiu, an ecologist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich), tracked wildfires across eight European mountain regions from 2000 to 2025. The pattern was hard to miss. Fires are climbing the slopes at roughly 236 feet per decade, finding fuel in stands that almost never burned before.
THUNDER BAY — The Ontario government is investing $5.5 million to help Greenwater Technology produce renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel using mill by-products and underused wood. This investment will support new opportunities for made-in-Ontario forest products, create new revenue streams to drive growth in forestry and empower the aviation and transportation industries to adopt sustainable fuels. As part of the government’s plan to protect Ontario, the government is making strategic investments to help forest sector businesses adapt, compete and grow to stay resilient in the face of U.S. tariffs. …After bringing the technology to market, Greenwater plans to integrate biofuel plants at anchor mills, providing an on-site use for forest biomass that would increase productivity, strengthen forestry supply chains and generate new revenue streams.
Safety Starts Here: June 9-10, 2026, Prince George, BC | The Wood Pellet Association of Canada’s (WPAC’s) 2026 Wood Pellet and Bioenergy Safety Summit is rapidly approaching. The Summit offers valuable opportunities to learn, share and strengthen safety practices across the industry. Join industry leaders, safety professionals and regulators to discuss rotary drum dryer safety, process safety management (PSM) and emerging safety initiatives. Participate in a hands-on musculoskeletal injury (MSI) workshop and a full-day mental health workshop, giving you tools to support the physical and psychological well-being of yourself and your colleagues. Hosted by WPAC’s Safety Committee, in collaboration with the BC Forest Safety Council, WorkSafe BC and media partner Canadian Biomass, the Summit focuses on practical, real-world safety challenges facing the sector today. Whether your role is in safety leadership, operations, maintenance, or workforce health, the WPAC Safety Summit provides valuable opportunities to learn, connect, and contribute to safer workplaces across the sector.
Residents of Woodlands County impacted by a wildfire south of Highway 43, east of