Ahead of public hearings, US industry groups urge renewal of Canada-US-Mexico trade agreement. In other Business news: New Brunswick woodlot owner says the tariff situation is not sustainable; BC looks for new markets in the Far East; and no injuries reported at BiOrigin paper mill fire in Ontario. Meanwhile: Roy O. Martin III is recognized by Louisiana Tech; New Zealand welcomes the world’s first mass timber aircraft maintenance hangar; and Burnaby, BC, employs mass timber to add warmth to new ice arena.
In Forestry/Climate news: no roadmap emerged to end deforestation, but COP30 still delivered for forests; ENGO questions AAC determinations in BC; Montana thins to create grizzly bear habitat; ENGOs sue the US Forest Service over Nolichucky River logging; Colorado’s burned forests hold less snowpack; and Metsä Group sets up its own PEFC certification group. Meanwhile: the Forest History Association of BC’s AGM is tonight.
Finally, the BC Marmot Recovery Foundation is making progress, and it has the video to prove it.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
The much-pilloried Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement was signed seven years ago this weekend—on November 30, 2018. A year later, it was amended to address rules of origin for autos, digital trade, IP, dairy and, who could forget, a sunset clause. We can all do the math. The December 10, 2019 amendments set in motion a 16-year term for the agreement, with a mandatory review every six years. Which means we’ll see more of a requiem than a birthday bash next week when Mark Carney is in Washington to help kick off the 2026 FIFA World Cup. But don’t bury CUSMA just yet. Despite the U.S. President’s freeze on negotiations, officials from both countries are talking every day and laying the groundwork for what will be an intense 2026. Not many insiders seriously expect CUSMA to go away; they’re working on changes—modifications, enhancements, renovations, depending on your point of view—that will continue to change the fabric of continental commerce.
Private woodlot owner Andrew Clark says this year is one of the toughest he’s seen in the six decades he’s worked in the woods. For him, sales are ‘maybe 50 per cent’ of what they were last year. “It is the lack of markets which are the result of the tremendous uncertainty that the industry is in now because of the actions of the American government,” he said. He feels some of the federal government’s new supports – announced this week – could help. Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Wednesday a $500-million increase to the previously announced Softwood Lumber Development Program, which gives companies access to government-backed loans, totaling $1.2 billion. He also said Ottawa is working with railway companies to cut freight rates when transporting Canadian lumber across the country by 50 per cent. But Clark says the current situation – with the U.S. duties and tariffs amounting to 45 per cent – isn’t sustainable.
The audience of dedicated urbanists at Vancouver’s Robson Square Theatre was startled earlier this year when the first speaker at a debate about mass timber—which B.C. has been promoting vigorously—said it isn’t the for-sure climate-change silver bullet that everyone likes to think it is. Adam Rysanek, a UBC professor of environmental systems who specializes in energy efficiency, poked hard at the assumption that, because everyone thinks of mass timber as just wood—a plant! that comes out of the ground!—it must be natural and environmentally friendly and surely better than concrete. But Rysanek kept making the point at the Urbanarium debate that those ideas are not fully proven. A study he cited, which aimed to factor in all the uncertainties of carbon emissions in different types of building materials, found there is not a clear answer yet about the differences between mass timber and concrete.
Modern-day circumstances are slowly transforming the Christmas tree farming industry. …weather is a challenge Michael Cormack faces on the Christmas tree farm he owns and operates in Ontario. … “Mother nature is a big, big factor in the business,” Cormack said. “This year in July, we were averaging over 29 C. So we had trees from two to three years ago that just died. … Four years ago, we had a tornado here that wiped out a bunch of our stuff.” …Another major factor is the cost of living crisis. …“Right now many of the farms are owned by elderly growers, and they’re aging out. So we’re losing a lot of farms year after year, which is unfortunate,” said Kelsey Leonard, founder and director of the Christmas Tree Lab at the University of Waterloo. …U.S. tariffs are also likely to have an impact on the costs associated with growing Christmas trees this year, Leonard said.
I am writing to express my concern for the fate of B.C.’s remaining old growth forests, including the globally rare and at-risk Inland Temperate Rainforest. Most of this endangered forest is still not protected, and thus all creatures who dwell therein are equally unprotected. The Valhalla Wilderness Society … is putting forth a plan to protect the remaining intact Inland Temperate Rainforests through its three park proposals: the Rainbow-Jordan Wilderness proposal; the Selkirk Mountains Ancient Forest Park proposal; and the Quesnel Lake Wilderness proposal. This protection is crucial for the survival of these rare temperate rainforests. David Eby, you are undoubtedly well informed as to the many scientific reasons for protecting more forest, especially old growth forests…Importantly, only the BC Park Act and the BC Protected Areas Act can provide secure protection to preserve forest for future generations. Please adopt and implement the VWS park proposals as quickly as possible. 
A proactive new tool that can help preserve old forests in British Columbia has been developed by University of Alberta researchers. A new study gives crucial insight into where to focus conservation measures, by identifying areas of old-growth forest in areas predicted to be stable in the face of climate change. The approach shifts the focus toward what can still be protected, says Nick Pochailo, who led the study…. “Old-growth forests located in areas of potential climatic stability offer exceptional long-term conservation value. By identifying these places, land managers can prioritize and plan conservation efforts more effectively.” …old-growth forests account for about 25 per cent of BC’s forested areas. They’ve shrunk from 25 million hectares to about half that due to logging, wildfires, and pests like the mountain pine beetle… computer models predict how these ecosystems might shift by the 2050s, then mapped the changes to geographically pinpoint areas most likely to survive. 
B.C. has invited stakeholders, experts, Indigenous partners and government representatives from throughout the country to a wildfire symposium in Vancouver on Dec. 5, 2025. The focus will be the 2025 wildfire season, wildfire technology, active forest management and national readiness for future wildfires. The symposium includes advancing discussions on a national leadership strategy and stronger collaboration that will shape the framework of wildfire resiliency in Canada. Enhancing a national framework for wildfire resilience, including the challenges and opportunities people and communities are facing, is one intended outcome for the upcoming symposium on wildfires to be hosted in B.C. After the second-worst wildfire season nationally, B.C. is leading the symposium to bring together national and international experts, provincial, federal and territorial governments, as well as key industry and Indigenous partners, with the goal of sharing best practices and considering mitigation and preparation steps for 2026.
Researchers with the Nature Trust of New Brunswick are on the hunt for four different types of lichens and they’ve found one – in an unusual spot. The scaly fringe lichen, known scientifically as heterodermia squamulosa, was found between Alma and Riverside-Albert, east of Fundy National Park. “As far as I know, it’s the most eastern recorded occurrence of the species to date,” said Ilana Urquhart, a conservation coordinator with the Nature Trust. …Urquhart said lichens can be a good indicator of a healthy environment that can support a variety of species. “We might not directly see what the importance of them is, but they’re often found in areas that are really rich, that are biodiverse.” The biggest threat to lichens is habitat loss, according to Urquhart, which can be caused by logging and harvesting.%20(6).jpg)
Kremmling, Colorado — The Mill in Kremmling is contributing to the natural carbon-storing success of trees in Routt County by purchasing and reusing standing dead trees logged during wildfire mitigation projects and turned into usable wood products. The company’s goal is to support the local economy and Colorado’s timber industry by creating a demand for forest products sourced entirely from fire mitigation projects, said Lisa Hara, owner and CEO at The Mill. Some 90% of the trees processed at The Mill come from Routt County, with 10% from Jefferson County for Douglas fir wood, Hara said. “We help Routt County by creating a demand for materials that come directly from fire mitigation and watershed projects,” said Hara, who purchased The Mill in spring 2023. “Instead of being treated as waste, this wood becomes a resource, one that supports forest health and rural jobs at the same time.”
Conservative Forestry Critic Ward Stamer wants to decrease regulation of the logging industry and an increase to the annual allowable cut. Logging proponents love to cite how important and valuable the industry is to B.C. communities. The reality, however, is quite different. Here are some figures that show clearly – in almost every metric – that logging is less valuable to B.C. communities and the B.C. economy than tourism. … These figures of the logging industry are from 2022 and the tourism figures are from 2022 and 2023, so they are roughly comparable. Tourism employed over 125,700 people; logging and related industry employed approximately 100,000. Tourism resulted in $5.9 billion in wages and salaries in 2023, 11.8 per cent higher than in 2022; Logging and related industries resulted in approximately $9.1 billion. There were 16,860 tourism businesses in operation in 2023, mostly in small communities, many of them remote and, increasingly, more of them Indigenous owned.
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, will host a premier in-person event for Canada’s bioenergy sector from January 26 to 28, 2026—the 
Domtar Corp. and Eastman Chemical Co. said they will continue to record and report climate-warming emissions even with the Environmental Protection Agency’s move to end a reporting program for them. The EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, which went into effect in 2010, requires about 8,000 facilities to annually report their greenhouse gas emissions. That includes chemical plants and pulp and paper manufacturing facilities like Eastman and Domtar’s Kingsport locations. …Domtar said in a statement to Six Rivers Media that it plans to continue reporting greenhouse gas data and reducing those emissions are part of the company’s objectives. “Many of our customers and stakeholders are concerned about climate issues, and carbon footprints are increasingly being considered in purchasing decisions,” said Jan Martin, Domtar’s director of U.S. Public Affairs. …Other industry trade groups have shared their own concerns over the end of the program, saying it could complicate their processes or add new costs. 
In response to an article published by The Guardian regarding our Canadian sustainable biomass operations, Miguel Veiga-Pestana, Drax’s Chief Sustainability Officer, wrote this response: The environmental non-profit Stand.earth fails to see the wood from the trees when it comes to the Canadian forestry industry and Drax’s limited role within it (
The December issue of Forest Safety News is here, bringing timely insights and practical tools for safer forestry work this winter. One standout feature explores how RPAS drones are transforming field safety, reducing worker exposure during steep-slope layout, post-fire assessments, and difficult terrain navigation. It’s a look at technology that’s not just impressive — it’s making real crews safer in real time. This issue also recaps the 18th Annual Vancouver Island Safety Conference, where powerful keynote speakers shared stories of perseverance, leadership, and the importance of mental and physical well-being. The message was clear: safety culture is built person by person, conversation by conversation. You’ll also find a useful update on winter driving and hauling preparedness, including tips for planning routes, managing changing conditions, and supporting drivers during the toughest season of the year. Packed with practical advice, inspiring stories, and forward-looking innovations, this issue offers a strong finish to 2025 for BC’s forest sector.