A new study by wildfire experts says BC must spend more now on wildfire mitigation to avoid dire consequences in the future. In related news: the US shutdown is causing confusion across the US Forest Service; FSC suspends its MOU with Asia Pacific Resources; and the amount of land suitable for planting is said to fall short of what’s required for emissions-reduction.
In Business news: Prime Minister Carney to return to Washington as Trump’s tariffs hit lumber and other sectors hard; Ontario’s value added manufacturers condemn the punitive tariffs; the NY Times says new tariffs could worsen US housing crisis; and Fannie Mae tweaks its US economic outlook. Meanwhile: Union and Kapuskasing residents rally to save the Kap Paper mill; and Ric Sinclair takes the helm at ForestrySA in South Australia.
Finally, the latest news from Woodlots BC and the BC Community Forest Association.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
In other news: 
Trump imposed 
Vancouver, B.C. – The British Columbia Lumber Trade Council (BCLTC) expressed deep disappointment today following the United States government’s decision to impose additional tariffs of 10 percent on Canadian softwood lumber under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. This action comes despite the fact that Canadian lumber has never posed a national security risk to the United States. Canada is a trusted ally and a secure supplier, and U.S. producers already meet most of the domestic demand. Canadian exports simply fill the gap that U.S. production cannot cover, preventing supply shortages that would harm American consumers. “These tariffs will not improve U.S. national security — they will only drive-up lumber costs, making housing even less affordable for American families and undermining the integrated trade relationship that benefits both our countries.” – Kurt Niquidet, President, BC Lumber Trade Council. …This will impose needless strain on the North American market, threaten jobs on both sides of the border, and make it harder to address the housing supply crisis in the United States.
The B.C. Government says it’s going to expand the scope of BC Timber Sales. The organization manages 20 per cent of the province’s allowable annual cut for Crown/public timber and the auction of public timber. The government released a review of BC Timber Sales on Tuesday… A Chemainus mill is among two Western Forest Products mills in the Cowichan Valley facing lengthy curtailments, impacting more than 200 workers. …At the Paulcan Jemico mills in Chemainus, there are 50 people working despite tough times for the industry. The owner says profit margins are razor-thin while regulations are always increasing. “We’re making it to the point where no one wants to do business because there is so much uncertainty in what goes on in this industry,” said Paul Beltgens, owner of Paulcan Jemico Industries. Beltgens says unless conditions improve, there’s very little reason to invest in his company’s operations for the future.
VICTORIA — Forests Minister Ravi Parmar this week announced major reforms to B.C. Timber Sales, hoping to reverse a two-thirds decline in sales volumes under the NDP. …Parmar said the government will broaden the agency’s mandate to focus on providing wood to support manufacturing, delivering jobs to communities and building partnerships with First Nations. The changes are prompted by a review conducted earlier this year by former B.C. Liberal cabinet minister George Abbott, Vanderhoof councillor Brian Frenkel and First Nations representative Lennard Joe. …Parmar didn’t understate the urgency of delivering logs to all the right places … that day’s Merritt Herald announced Aspen Planer mill was closing for “an indefinite period.” …The company doesn’t lack for wood supply on paper. …For all Parmar’s and Eby’s enthusiasm for boosting the annual harvest, they have not made believers of the Ministry of Finance in their own government.
The September monthly update from the Softwood Lumber Board includes these headlines and more:
Washington, D.C. – When most people think of ironworkers, mass timber is not the first thing that comes to mind. But that perception is changing fast. The International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers (Iron Workers), is proving that ironworkers are not only part of the mass timber conversation, but they are the best equipped trade to erect these projects. From landmark projects like the Walmart Headquarters in Arkansas, erected by Iron Workers’ signatory contractor Foust Fab & Erectors, to countless hybrid timber-and-steel structures across the United States and Canada, ironworkers are quietly setting the standard for mass timber erection. Ironworkers have proven that their structural steel expertise, efficiency, and safety culture make them the #1 choice for this growing market. …Our mass timber training is in partnership with WoodWorks, and therefore, third-party validated,” said Iron Workers Executive Director of Apprenticeship and Training James Owens. 
In this newsletter you’ll find:
GATINEAU
OTTAWA, ON – Today, the Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced over $1.44 million in funding for 10 projects under Natural Resources Canada’s Global Forest Leadership Program, delivered through the International Model Forest Network. This funding will help restore damaged ecosystems, support agroforestry and sustainable local businesses, empower Indigenous and local communities — especially women and youth — and improve global forest management and restoration. Healthy forests around the world contribute to carbon sequestration and climate resilience, benefitting Canadians and the global community. As a leader in sustainable forest management, Canada plays a key role in advancing sustainable forestry worldwide, and the federal government remains committed to sharing its expertise, fostering collaboration and helping restore, manage and conserve forests around the world to protect biodiversity and help tackle climate change and environmental damage.
…the carcasses of 11 cattle were found on a logging road near Quesnel earlier this week… The owner of the animals, who holds tenure for an area of Crown land in B.C.’s Cariboo region, discovered the cows had ingested a nitrate-based fertilizer used in forestry to encourage tree growth, said Kevin Boon, of the B.C. Cattlemen’s Association. “They licked it, thinking it was salt, and died of nitrate poisoning,” he said. …Boon said the rancher … fears more may have been poisoned… The fertilizer is usually applied in the winter or early spring, while cows aren’t grazing in B.C.’s forests. It appears to have been done earlier this year, due to a “lack of understanding,” said Boon, emphasizing that it doesn’t appear to be deliberate. “When you have multiple tenure-holders on the land, there needs to be communication with the stakeholders,” he said. …B.C. Forests Ministry is aware of the situation and is investigating…
Date: Wednesday, October 8, 2025 | Doors: 6 pm | Event: 7 pm | Reception: 8:30 pm | Location: Hollywood Theatre, 3123 W. Broadway, Vancouver
A hazard assessment commissioned by the B.C. government has identified 45 kilometres of old logging roads at high risk of landslides reaching Highway 99 — in the same area where a rain-triggered slide killed five people south of Lillooet in 2021. The hazard assessment, completed in 2023, was obtained through a freedom of information request by Postmedia News after the B.C. Forests Ministry refused to release the report. The report produced by Westrek Geotechnical Services Ltd., recommended further inspection to determine the best way to deactivate the roads and reduce landslide risk… They assessed Hwy. 99 between Duffey Lake and Lillooet — is about 100 kilometres northeast by road from Whistler. …It’s important to determine whether these old logging roads are diverting water out of its natural path and if this poses a landslide threat, and straighten it out from top to bottom, said Calvin VanBuskirk, an engineer with decades of experience in how logging and roads alter water flow. [This story may require a Vancouver Sun subscription for full access]
In a career that has spanned nearly 40 years in the forestry industry, Michael McKay says he’s never had to face a situation like the one he’s staring at now. “This is probably one of the biggest, I mean with this fire and the current state of the industry, to have it all come together at once, it’s definitely about as tough as it’s been,” McKay said. The president of Franklin Forest Products is facing a perfect storm of problems but is pivoting as best he can to weather through it. The latest issue was the Mount Underwood Fire which started Aug. 11 and ended up destroying half of the company’s powerline despite his employees trying to save it. …The blaze interrupted the implementation of a new Gang Mill plant that would have added more staff to the company’s roster of 35 employees. …”It’s been four years and wood’s not coming out, there’s just no wood coming out of the bush and all we are is a bunch of too many squirrels chasing too few nuts,” McKay said.
A group of University of Toronto forestry students collected acorns from a giant White Oak tree at Queen’s Park on Wednesday as part of an effort to preserve the diversity of Toronto’s native trees. Eric Davies, a forest ecologist at the University of Toronto, led a group of undergraduate students in the university’s foresters club as they gathered about six litres of acorns from a tree in Queen’s Park North, one of four remaining large White Oaks in the park. White Oaks, a common deciduous tree species in North America, are the largest and oldest trees in the green spaces outside the Ontario Legislature. …Davies said timing is key, as White Oaks produce acorns about once every five to 10 years — this year being one of them. …Davies said the students will donate most of the acorns to the City of Toronto’s tree seed diversity program in the next two weeks. Some of the acorns will be kept at U of T to be grown there, he added.
The Nova Scotia government’s proposed move to make it illegal to block forest access roads on Crown lands is being dismissed as heavy-handed and an attempt to ignore Mi’kmaq rights. Several presenters spoke out in opposition Monday during an appearance before the legislature’s public bills committee hearing on the Protecting Nova Scotians Act. The omnibus bill includes one new piece of legislation and amends seven other acts, including the Crown Lands Act. The changes to the act would impose a $50,000 fine and/or six months in jail for protests or individuals who ignore protest camp removal orders. Michelle Paul, a Mi’kmaq water protector and land defender, said the bill was written without consultation or consideration of treaty rights and should be withdrawn. “It’s not lost upon us that this bill is being rushed through on the eve of Treaty Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation,” said Paul. 
A coalition of conservation groups’ attempt to stop a forest project in Montana’s Bitterroot National Forest fell flat on Tuesday when a magistrate judge recommended the court toss their claims. In her findings and recommendations, U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen DeSoto noted inconsistencies in the conservation groups’ arguments across different filings, leading to many of their claims being waived. “Therefore, defendants argue, plaintiffs have conceded these issues,” DeSoto wrote. “Defendants further point out that several of plaintiffs’ arguments are raised for the first time on reply.” The groups challenged the planned Mud Creek Vegetation Management Project, claiming it violates multiple federal conservation acts by failing to provide exact details of where logging and burning will take place, as well as what effects it will have on the environment. The project will include logging, thinning, controlled burns and road construction on 48,000 acres of federal forest. It is intended to mitigate wildfire risk._-_%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86_%D9%82%D9%85.JPG)
A breakthrough in the creation of an oral contraceptive for wildlife has been made by British researchers – in a significant step towards ethical grey squirrel management. Scientists at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) have achieved infertility in rats through free feeding of an oral immunocontraceptive, and say initial studies show the formula has also succeeded in attaining a reaction in grey squirrels. Funded by the UK Squirrel Accord (UKSA), the research will develop a vaccine-based contraceptive and species-specific feeder to reduce grey squirrel numbers for the protection of UK red squirrels, trees and woodland ecosystems. …Fertility control is used as a safe and non-lethal option to tackle wildlife problems. …This contraceptive affects an animal’s immune system to prevent it creating the sex hormones and causes infertility in both males and females. Developing a formula that can survive the body’s digestive processes and make it into the bloodstream is a real challenge.
At New York Climate Week, a coalition of 34 national governments unveiled a decisive blueprint called the Forest Finance Roadmap for Action, aimed at closing the substantial funding shortfall undermining global efforts to halt deforestation. The plan, developed in partnership with Brazil and backed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), targets the estimated $66.8 billion annual finance gap in tropical nations. The roadmap distinguishes itself as the first unified framework to bring together governments from both the Global North and South under a shared agenda for forest finance, according to an announcement made by the Forest & Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP). It seeks to move beyond pledge-making toward deployable, investment-ready strategies aligned with the COP30 Action Agenda and the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration.
Storing carbon in forests is an essential, nature-based buffer against climate change. Yet forests packed with too many trees increase the threat of severe wildfires… A team of UC Merced and collaborating researchers evaluated the tradeoffs between two seemingly opposing scenarios: Trees are critical because they pull carbon dioxide from the air, preventing carbon from adding to greenhouse effects that trap heat and warm the atmosphere; and the increasing severity and danger of wildfires call for the thinning of overly dense forests. The researchers found that the best approach is a combination of both. 
Josep “Pep” Canadell, executive director of the Global Carbon Project, says he believes countries large and small need to think twice before pledging to collectively plant billions of trees as a primary emissions-reduction strategy to meet climate action goals. “We have somehow sold reforestation as an easier path [to fighting climate change], and it’s not easy at all,” Canadell said. “In my view, it’s not even easier than carbon capture and storage, a technology we’re still developing. That’s because when you bring humans into landscapes and try managing these landscapes, this stuff becomes very complex.” Canadell is the co-author of a 
The biggest trees in the Amazon are growing larger and more numerous, according to a new study that shows how an intact rainforest can help draw carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and sequester it in bark, trunk, branch and root. Scientists said 
Fall issue of WorkSafe Magazine
A firefighter from Minnesota died Friday while helping the United States Forest Service with a controlled burn in Idaho, officials say. The Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) says Isabella Oscarson had been struck by a falling tree while assisting the U.S. Forest Service’s Tinker Bugs with a prescribed fire in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests. She was evacuated from the scene and flown to a hospital in Grangeville, Idaho, where she later died. Oscarson was a seasonal employee with the IDL. “IDL extends its deepest sympathies to Isabella’s family and friends. This is a tragedy that hits the employees at Idaho Department of Lands and the broader wildland fire community extremely hard,” Dustin Miller, director of IDL, said. Idaho Gov. Brad Little ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff to honor Oscarson until the day following her memorial service.
Nova Scotia’s Department of Natural Resources says more evacuations are possible as a fire near Lake George in the Annapolis Valley continues to burn out of control. Residents of … Aylesford Lake’s southwest end have been told to prepare to evacuate. The fire in Kings County, which broke out Sunday, is estimated to be 150 hectares. It had been pegged at 300 hectares Monday night but officials at a briefing Tuesday afternoon said that was the result of an overestimation due to dense smoke conditions. Jim Rudderham, DNR’s director of fleet and forest protection, told reporters the cause of the fire has not been determined but it’s presumed human activity is responsible since there has been no lightning in the area. “It’s frustrating for us and for everybody when this happens,” Rudderham said. No buildings have been damaged but 275 civic addresses have been evacuated and 56 others are under an evacuation alert. Some of those addresses are cottages.
AYLESFORD — Nova Scotia officials say more evacuation orders are possible as a wildfire in the Annapolis Valley remains out of control. In a social media post, the Department of Natural Resources said a helicopter had been dispatched to gauge the area of the Lake George fire, which at last estimate was roughly 300 hectares in size. The fire broke out Sunday and was declared out of control late Monday, prompting officials to announce an evacuation of nearby campgrounds and homes. Officials said Tuesday residents on Birch Lane, Spruce Drive and Blue Lane at Aylesford Lake’s southwest end should be prepared to evacuated. Dry and windy conditions have helped push the fire from the northern end of Lake George eastward toward the northern end of Aylesford Lake. Evacuees are asked to register at the Louis Millett Community Complex in New Minas, N.S., where services are being offered.