Weyerhaeuser and International Paper reported disappointing Q4, 2025 earnings as forest sector headwinds persist. In related news: Cascades sells BC packaging plant to Crown Paper; US remodelling growth is expected to slow; lumber is looking up; and Japanese housing starts fell to 62 year low. Meanwhile: Prime Minister Carney says premiers are united ahead of CUSMA review; while President Trump ordered decertification of Canadian aircraft, including those used for wildfire suppression.
In Forestry news: a new study reveals gap in Canada’s post-wildfire reforestation efforts; a BC First Nation sues to reclaim land on central coast; Unifor shares its Fight for Forestry plan in Ontario; Oregon’s new forest plan is ready for public input; and Wyoming researchers track long-term tree health. Meanwhile: the latest news from Woodlots BC; the BC Community Forest Association, and the Forest Enhancement Society of BC.
Finally, BC Institute of Technology launches national platform to advance construction education and training in Canada.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
The Regional District of Nanaimo board will plead with fellow municipalities to pressure the B.C. and Canadian governments to prohibit raw log exports. At the Jan. 27 RDN board meeting, Paul Manly, City of Nanaimo director, proposed a resolution for the upcoming Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities conference, asking B.C. local governments to call on senior government to “ban the export of raw logs and lumber cants from B.C. to ensure that forests harvested [on] Crown land and private-managed forest lands are processed in B.C.…” The resolution passed and will be brought before AVICC. Should it pass there, it would be forwarded to the Union of B.C. Municipalities. Manly …pointed to recent mill closures on the Island, with a key factor being “lack of accessible and affordable fibre”. …Leanne Salter, Coombs area director, said she thought the resolution needed to be tweaked.
Cherie Whelan has been named the new chief executive officer of the B.C. Forest Safety Council. She takes over on April 1 from Rob Moonen, who announced his retirement in October. Whelan served as CEO of the Newfoundland & Labrador Construction Safety Association for two years and previously held the position of director of SAFE Companies at B.C. Forest Safety Council. The Nanaimo-based council delivers safety training and advisory services to British Columbia’s forest industry.
Make an impact with our Forestry Program Management Consulting Team as a Consultant and program lead. Our diverse team of professionals deliver program administration for a large forestry grant funding organization. As a trusted advisor, you’ll collaborate with the team in the delivery of forestry-related projects within the funding programs. Our team is based in Edmonton and works in our downtown office, this is an in-person, on-site position. The forestry Consultant supports the delivery and administration of forestry funding programs, working with government, industry, Indigenous groups, academics, and other stakeholders. The role involves managing and assessing projects such as silviculture, habitat restoration, wildfire mitigation, and forest health, including tracking activities, reviewing deliverables and expenses, and preparing reports. Responsibilities also include proposal review support, developing Requests for Proposals, limited GIS use, occasional field assessments, and providing advice to senior management and boards, while contributing to the growth of MNP’s forestry consulting practice.
VICTORIA — The president of the Tahltan Central Government, Kerry Carlick, said British Columbia shouldn’t change its Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, just as the First Nation and the provincial government celebrate a landmark agreement based on the legislation. Carlick said it is not a “good idea to take anything away from DRIPA,” adding that “if anything, it should be strengthened.” Carlick was speaking at an event with deputy premier Niki Sharma where they co-signed an agreement to share mineral tax revenue from the Eskay Creek mine. The ceremony came after the provincial government issued an environmental assessment certificate to Eskay Creek Mining Ltd. to restart gold and silver mining after a first-of-its kind collaborative assessment process with the First Nation under DRIPA. The provincial government has said it plans to revise the act after a series of court rulings around Aboriginal title, responding specifically to those decisions.
ALEXANDRIA, Va.
The latest newsletter from the Forest Enhancement Society of BC reflects on ongoing forestry challenges and emphasizes the value of collaboration, proactive planning, and shared solutions to strengthen forest health and resilience across British Columbia. It highlights a safety tip from the BC Forest Safety Council focused on mental health support for forestry workers, offering a free, confidential service to help industry professionals navigate stress. The newsletter also announces a new Extension Specialist position through a partnership with the Silviculture Innovation Program (SIP) aimed at translating technical and field knowledge into practical forestry resources. There’s a Faces of Forestry feature on Jennifer Grenz, plus links to a range of recent FESBC-funded project stories — from wildfire rehabilitation to biomass utilization — showcasing work being done by partners and communities province-wide.
Another dire warning is coming from B.C.’s forest industry, but this time from the tree-planting side, with those working in reforestation saying funding is running out as record wildfires took out huge sections of the province’s forests. A Western Forest Products greenhouse in Saanichton produces hundreds of thousands of tree seedlings. Many will be planted on Vancouver Island, according to Christina Lavoie, nursery supervisor, Western Forest Products, Saanich Forestry Centre. B.C. logging companies are legally required to restore the trees they harvest, but as the industry shrinks, fewer trees are being planted. Add to that the loss of trees due to years of record forest fires. …At the Western Forestry Contractors’ Association annual conference, there is concern about just how many trees are being lost to forest fires, and pests on public lands. …Forests Minister Ravi Parmar says he’s working with industry on solutions.
The BC Truck Loggers Association sent a letter to the North Island College regarding the potential discontinuation of two forestry programs. This would mean a significant loss of forestry education for the forest industry, and we’re asking for your support by copying and pasting our letter into an email and sending it to the college Board of Governors at bog@nic.bc.ca …The North Island College forestry programs are an essential contributor to education and economic opportunity for students in Campbell River and the north Island and provides an important stream of new graduates for forestry businesses. The program has strong backing from local industry, government and First Nations, and it would be regrettable to see the program discontinued at a time when sustained investment in forestry education is vital to British Columbia’s future.
Two conservation groups are suing the Trump administration, challenging a U.S. Department of Agriculture rule that strips public comment requirements from most national forest projects. In a federal 
The Washington wood-products industry says timber harvests will spiral downward if lawmakers pass a bill championed by Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove. At Upthegrove’s request, legislators are considering authorizing the Department of Natural Resources to sell “ecosystem services,” possibly by delaying or canceling timber harvests. DNR officials say ecosystem services could be a new source of revenue as businesses buy carbon credits to “offset” their emissions. Carbon credits could add to the money rural counties and schools receive from timber sales, according to DNR. The timber industry, backed by the Washington State Association of Counties, argues its more likely ecosystem services would replace timber sales. Rural public services would get less money, Paul Jewell, the counties’ policy director, said. More importantly, rural counties will lose timber jobs, he said. “Sales of ecosystem services can’t replace those economic benefits,” he told the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on Jan. 28.
A 34-year-old rule exempting some commercial logging projects on federal lands from environmental review is unlawful, a federal judge recently ruled. Judge Michael McShane in the U.S. District Court in Medford earlier this month struck down the exemption, and with it, reversed recent approvals for three commercial logging projects covering tens of thousands of acres in Fremont-Winema National Forest in southern Oregon. The decision is the result of a 2022 lawsuit brought against the U.S. Forest Service by regional conservation groups Oregon Wild, WildEarth Guardians and GO Alliance. Since 1992, the U.S. Forest Service has been able to bypass environmental reviews required by federal law for logging projects on federal land, if the logging is meant to “improve forest stand conditions,” habitat or prevent wildfires, without “significant effect” on the human environment.
What do northern communities need to make bioenergy projects successful? That was a key question addressed during the Arctic Bioenergy Summit and Tour in Yellowknife earlier this week. Hosted by the Arctic Energy Alliance and Wood Pellet Association of Canada, the event began with a day-long tour of buildings in Yellowknife that use biomass heating systems followed by a two-day conference at the Chateau Nova Hotel. “We’re the lead jurisdiction in Canada in terms of adoption of biomass for space heating and wood pellets,” Mark Heyck, executive director of the Arctic Energy Alliance, told Cabin Radio. “We want to continue that conversation, see where the future of that fuel source is going here in the Northwest Territories, but also learn from other jurisdictions in Canada and around the circumpolar world about what they’re working on.” …Following the conference, the Arctic Energy Alliance hosted a biomass boiler operator training course. 
NEW YORK
The energy industry initially sold wood pellets as a way to clean up coal. And governments bought into that assumption. But now policymakers are questioning that position and even reversing course. At the center of this debate is a UK-based power company called Drax, which converted Europe’s largest coal plant into a biomass facility—one fueled by wood pellets that it imported from southern states in the United States. The debate raises a multitude of questions, namely those centered on pollution and costs. That is, if the additive creates more pollution than either wind or solar energy, why bother, especially since it comes from a power source that depends on subsidies? Merry Dickinson, campaign director for the Dogwood Alliance, told me that Drax now operates entirely on woody biomass… “The amount of wood required … is beyond what is available as waste wood,” Dickinson says. “…much of the supply consists of whole trees.” [Forbes allows 4 free articles per month]