Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled a crisis-era Cabinet to confront Trump’s trade war. In related news: Carney’s cabinet signals softening on climate; experts opine on the US need for Canada’s exports; and US housing inflation remains elevated. Meanwhile: US lawmakers introduce tax credit to support hardwood manufacturers; a breakthrough for wood in New York; a mass timber shaft wall system; and tree rings age Atlanta’s historic buildings.
In Forestry/Wildfire news: Unifor pans Quebec’s forestry regime; BC’s Forest Practices Board says 2023 burns were sound forestry; and wildfire alerts in eastern Manitoba; western Ontario and northeastern Minnesota. Meanwhile: a US group supports forest land transfers to private ownership; and New Zealand’s timber industry braces for tougher times.
Finally, Canada’s fire forecast looks bad. The impacts could spill into the US.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
Now that the Liberals have secured another term in office, the big question is whether they can deliver on their ambitious promises, particularly a $26 billion push into prefabricated homes through a new agency called Build Canada Homes (BCH). The plan includes $25 billion in debt financing and $1 billion in equity for Canada’s prefab and modular homebuilders. The goal is to cut construction times by as much as 50%, reduce costs by 20%, and lower emissions by 22% compared to traditional building, while using Canadian technologies like mass timber and softwood lumber. BCH also plans to issue bulk orders to manufacturers, aiming to create steady demand and boost apprenticeships to strengthen the skilled trades workforce. …A problem, Kevin Lee, CEO of the 
Kitselas First Nation is expanding its role in the forestry sector with the purchase of a new forest tenure from A&A Trading Ltd. The deal includes Forest License A16836 and Road Permit RP16688, giving Kitselas an annual allowable cut of just over 10,000 cubic metres. The total purchase price was just under $1.58 million and was approved by Chief and Council in July 2024. The acquisition is supported by Kitselas Development Corporation and Kitselas Forestry LP. An initial $800,000 was transferred to Kitselas in 2024, with the potential for a second distribution to fully cover the purchase. This move strengthens Kitselas’ economic position and gives the Nation more control over its lands and resources. Kitselas Forestry LP will manage the new tenure alongside existing operations, maintaining partnerships with trusted industry players.
Are you passionate about technology and forestry? Join our team at Phoenix Connect (a division of DR Systems) and help shape the future of forest operations. We’re looking for a Client Experience Lead to support the growth of our SaaS platform and work closely with clients to optimize their forest management practices. This dynamic role blends innovation, client service, and environmental stewardship—working alongside a collaborative and motivated team. As the Client Experience Lead, you’ll contribute directly to the evolution of Phoenix Connect—bringing fresh ideas, solving real-world challenges, and making a tangible impact. This position can be based remotely, though our head office is located in Nanaimo, BC. Phoenix Connect is a cloud-based platform designed specifically for the forestry sector. It brings together all aspects of forest management—planning, operations, reporting, and compliance—into one seamless system. Phoenix helps forestry professionals make informed decisions, stay compliant with regulations, and manage their operations more efficiently. Phoenix Connect is shaping the future of sustainable forest management.
A lack of economical fibre will result in downtime at a pair of North Okanagan Tolko operations. Plants in Armstrong and at White Valley, near Lumby, will take approximately one week of downtime beginning as early as May 12 at Armstrong Lumber, and May 15 at White Valley. Employees have been notified. “BC regulatory and policy burden continues to impact the availability and accessibility of economic fibre,” said the Vernon-based company in an email. “We’re actively managing our log inventory, and the logs we have available are being deliberately directed to mills to make products where we can deliver the most value — accelerating our production of specialty, value-added (plywood, veneer and lamstock) and engineered wood products. “We recognize the impact this has on our employees and their families, and we will continue to provide as much notice as possible to help them manage through this uncertainty.”
The Ford government is planning to impose new rules on how local governments greenlight development projects, pushing the changes on municipalities as the province struggles to meet its self-imposed goal of building 1.5 million homes by 2031. The government is relying on a series of changes to Ontario’s planning rules, like reducing studies developers have to undertake and standardizing development charges, in a bid to speed up homebuilding. Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Rob Flack is set to table the legislation next week, with changes including reducing requirements for builders to conduct some municipally-focused studies, allowing builders to bypass some city committees and a raft of changes to the fees developers pay to local governments. …The legislation would give the Ford government the ability to pare down the list of requirements for a development application, establish which studies would be required and force municipalities to accept certified studies presented by the developer.
ROSEBURG, Ore. — 
Georgia-Pacific has announced it will permanently close its Cedar Springs containerboard mill in Georgia later this year, impacting approximately 535 employees. The company informed workers on May 14 that most positions at the site will be eliminated by August 1, 2025, with all roles eventually affected. While production will continue temporarily to meet existing customer commitments, the mill’s operations are set to wind down in the coming months. Georgia-Pacific cited multiple factors behind the decision, emphasizing that the mill could no longer competitively serve its customers in the long term. The company stressed that the closure is not a reflection of the employees’ performance. “Our focus now is to operate safely and support our employees through this transition,” the company stated, pledging to treat all affected workers with “dignity and respect.”
A construction industry crash in China is sending shockwaves through the timber trade here. “There’s elephants in the forest,” said Rotorua-based forestry consultant Jeff Tombleson. China was by far the largest importer of New Zealand logs – 92% in the year to June last year. But Tombleson said it had been “throttling back” on the quantity taken since China’s property market started contracting in 2021. Mega-infrastructure projects there such as new cities, ports and railways were nearing completion, he said. He said most of the New Zealand timber exported to China was used on construction sites for concrete-casting (boxing), a technique used in 60% of the country’s multi-storey builds. Since 2019, New Zealand’s isolating export log prices have occasionally “come back” to sub-$100 per cubic metre from an average of $132. At the lower level, he said harvesting for most of the small forests’ estate was not viable and because there was little or no domestic demand, they shut their gates.
The Canadian mass timber industry has been making great strides forward, but it has been kept from growing even faster by challenges it faces in procuring reasonably priced insurance and financing. Simon Fraser University (SFU) Renewable Cities recently released a guide that describes these challenges. Titled, Advancing Mass Timber/Risk mitigation and insurance strategies for a thriving sector, the guide presents three what it calls pathways “to help address risks, improve insurability and support a thriving mass timber industry.” Mass timber’s benefits notwithstanding, projects built with it often face higher insurance rates than traditional materials. According to the guide, “This can discourage developers from using mass timber elements…Understanding this could influence a phased approach to a building that could make it easier and cheaper to insure. “It is crucial that the insurance broker negotiating the project understands these specific issues and concerns.”
Professionals working in the lumber and sawmill sector and looking to advance their careers can gain specialized training through BCIT’s Associate Certificate in Industrial Wood Processing, starting June 2025. The IWP program was developed with industry subject matter experts and informed by industry leaders to support upskilling and professional development within the sector. The program is 1-year, delivered online and part-time to allow students to balance work and studies. What sets the program apart is the expertise behind the scenes—seasoned instructors who bring decades of hands-on experience from across North America.
It could be another dangerously smoky summer for some in the United States as Canada prepares for a busy wildfire season with forecasts also signaling extreme heat is in store for both countries in the coming months. But when it comes to wildfire threats this season, the call is also coming from inside the house for the US: Violent wildfires have already raged in multiple states this year, millions were under red flag warnings this week and an active summer is on the horizon. In Canada, wildfires have scorched tens of millions of acres, displaced hundreds of thousands of people and killed multiple firefighters since the country’s record-breaking 2023 fire season. Some fires from the past two years also poured smoke into large population centers in Canada and the US, cratering air quality and ushering in orange-tinted, apocalyptic-looking skies. …Large wildfires produce dangerous smoke that can reach communities hundreds of miles away.
A new University of Alberta study calculates that there are 277 billion trees in the North American boreal forest, including 30 billion in Alberta, and it could benefit climate mitigation. Estimated using a sophisticated machine learning algorithm, the numbers are 31 per cent higher than a count made through an earlier attempt in a major 2015 global study. “Our research provides by far the most accurate and credible answer to the question of how many trees are in our boreal forests,” says study lead Fangliang He, a forest ecologist and Canada Research Chair in Biodiversity and Landscape Modelling in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences. The work fills a crucial knowledge gap that “reduces the uncertainty in estimating and managing tree density to promote forest productivity that enhances forest carbon sink potential,” he adds. “Knowing that there are 31 per cent more trees than previously estimated suggests our boreal forests have greater capacity to mitigate climate change.”
The Telkwa Caribou Road Restoration project has received a commitment of $278,257 over three years from the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation. This project will benefit the Telkwa caribou herd through the reclamation of approximately 100 kilometres of road that will according to the project, reduce interactions of caribou with predators, increase habitat availability and access for predators to alternative prey, and increase intact caribou habitat (mature, old-growth forest) into the future. Senior conservation planning biologist Laura Greene said the Telkwa caribou herd has been a conservation concern since the late 1960s. Increasing landscape change, such as logging, road-building, human settlement, etc., is what has driven the decline of the Telkwa caribou, Greene explained. Habitat alteration can result in the direct loss of habitat for caribou, a decrease in habitat quality, and/or a shift in the predator-prey dynamics, resulting in more caribou being killed by predators.
Washington, D.C.—Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale), along with Reps. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) and Jeff Hurd (R-CO), introduced H.R. 3300, the Forest Protection and Wildland Firefighter Safety Act of 2025, to ensure aerial fire retardant remains available for wildfire suppression efforts without being tied up in Clean Water Act permitting delays. The bill clarifies that federal, state, local, and tribal firefighting agencies do not need a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit to use fire retardant from aircraft when responding to wildfires. … In 2022, an environmental group sued the Forest Service over its use of aerial fire retardant, arguing regulation under the Clean Water Act. A federal court ruled in 2023 that the Forest Service must obtain a NPDES permit from the EPA… …if future litigation results in a successful injunction, firefighters could be forced to ground aircraft or fly them with only water…
With the passing of the 25th anniversary of the 2000 Cerro Grande Fire on May 10—during yet another bone-dry spring of the Modern Megadrought—we should consider a wildfire variation of the adage, “Those who don’t learn from (fire and forestry) history are doomed to relive it.” In the 1990s, Los Alamos and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) were warned, repeatedly, that they were vulnerable to wildfire. Today, Los Alamos and New Mexico in general, despite Cerro Grande and other fires, have not acknowledged or addressed the dangerous reality of today’s forests. As a correspondent for the Santa Fe New Mexican in the 1990s, I authored multiple stories featuring foresters and wildland firefighters who saw Los Alamos’ peril. I also witnessed, firsthand, the power and destruction of wildfires—Cerro Grande, Dome, Missionary Ridge, Los Conchas—in places I love. …Instead, it’s time to demand municipal, county, state, and federal leaders who acknowledge and aggressively address the wildfire threat.
After Oregon’s devastating 2020 Labor Day fires, the Legislature passed a bill that was supposed to lead to more wildfire awareness and resilience. Among other things, Senate Bill 762 created a map of areas at high risk of fire. But that map led to a huge backlash from property owners — a backlash so strong that a few weeks ago, the state Senate voted unanimously to eliminate it. Jeff Golden is a Democratic state senator from the Rogue Valley. He voted to create the map in 2021, now he’s voted to get rid of it. …“We delegated to Oregon State University, which has credentials — among the best in the world in terms of maps like this — and gave them almost no direction, just said, ‘We need a map to fulfill this purpose. Let us have it within the next 18 months.’” At the time, very few lawmakers were worried about what would come next.
EVERGREEN, Colo. — Crews with Jefferson County Open Space (JCOS) are working to reduce a spike in pine beetles in ponderosa pine trees at an Evergreen park. When the bark of infected trees is pulled back at Elk Meadow Park, the problem is clear. Pine beetles burrow into the trees and lay their larva under the bark. The larva live right on top of the living tissue of the tree, suck up the nutrients and end up killing the tree. They then pupate, turn into adults and fly off to the next tree. …”We are totally OK with a few trees being killed from the pine beetle that creates variable habitat for our wildlife species, and so at a small scale, mountain pine beetle is a good thing,” Steve Murdock, the interim manager of JCOS’ Natural Resource Stewardship. said. However, the numbers that Colorado communities, including Jefferson County, are seeing are well above what would be beneficial for a forest.
NASELLE, Wash. — One self-service library, high school, and grocery store serve the 519 people of Naselle, Washington. The piles of felled logs along the roadsides dwarf the passing cars, signaling to drivers that this town was built on logging. Many Naselle residents have family roots in the forestry sector, allowing them to be intimately familiar with its demands. They also do not often push back on timber harvests that pose no threat to endangered species or their habitats. But an upcoming harvest will fell trees surrounding one of two creeks that supply the town’s water: this is where most residents draw the line. …The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will auction off 105 acres of state-owned forest in Naselle on May 29 after they determined the area was suitable for harvest. The revenue from the highest bid will go to UW. …UW received approximately $20 million from the DNR from 2020 to 2024, $8.6 million of which was from timber sales. 
Oregon lawmakers appear likely to pass a bill that encourages college-credit agriculture and forestry classes in high schools, though some have doubts about its effectiveness. Senate Bill 784 would require the development of statewide standards for “dual credit” courses in these subjects, which is intended to make such classes more widely available, especially in rural areas. “Many students are eager to pursue careers in agriculture, forestry and natural resources but they need exposure and seamless pathways to higher education and industry jobs,” said Sen. Todd Nash, R-Enterprise, the bill’s chief co-sponsor. …More than 7,400 students are enrolled in natural resource programs at Oregon’s universities, showing there’s a demand for such education, so SB 784 would be a “smart investment” in the state’s future workforce, said Rep. Bobby Levy, R-Echo, the bill’s chief co-sponsor.
Washington, D.C. – Today, Representatives Ryan Zinke (R-MT-01) and Joe Neguse (D-CO-02) introduced the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration (CFLR) Program Reauthorization Act of 2025, which would extend and expand a successful program focused on reducing wildfire risk, restoring forest health, and supporting rural economies through proven, locally driven strategies. Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced companion legislation in the Senate. Originally authorized in 2009, the CFLR program is a model of how communities, industry partners, landowners, and local governments can work together to improve forest conditions and prevent catastrophic wildfires. In its first decade, CFLR projects treated and restored 5.7 million acres of forest, improved 1,000 miles of trails, and maintained over 25,000 miles of forest roads helping keep public lands open and safe.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A debate continues among scientists over whether tree composition in forests in eastern North American historically have been influenced more by climate or by cultural burning, which is the intentional and controlled use of fire by Indigenous people to manage their environment. A new study of southern New England forests … lends credence to the cultural burning hypothesis, suggesting that fire-tolerant vegetation — oak, hickory and pine — were significantly more abundant near Indigenous settlements over the last 5,000 years. “The results of this study strongly suggest that Native Americans extensively use fire and other disturbances such as land clearing for villages, agriculture and trails, and both directly and indirectly promoted fire-adapted trees,” said study co-author Marc Abrams, Penn State professor emeritus. “These trees were very important to the Native American diet because of the mast — nuts and acorns — they produced.”
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) introduced two bills to protect wilderness in Rockingham, Augusta, Highland, and Bath counties. “We are lucky to have such beautiful natural resources in Virginia, and we need to do more to ensure that these lands are protected for future generations,” said the senators. “We’re proud to introduce this legislation to preserve wilderness in Rockingham, Augusta, Highland, and Bath counties, protect wildlife, and support local economies that depend on tourism and outdoor recreation.” These additions were recommended by the U.S. Forest Service in 2014 and endorsed by members of the George Washington National Forest Stakeholder Collaborative, a group of forest users who work together on acceptable locations in the George Washington National Forest for wilderness, timber harvest, trails, and other uses. In 2023, the tourism economy directly employed 7,562 people and generated $842.5 million in expenditures in [these areas].
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced his new cabinet on Tuesday with a speech at Rideau Hall outlining his priorities — and like the speech, which did not mention climate change, the cabinet itself signals a potential shift in a new direction. Carney’s cabinet signals a “potential downgrading” of climate change and environment, says Mark Winfield, a professor of environmental governance at York University. …Carney appointed longtime business executive Tim Hodgson to serve as energy and natural resources minister and Toronto—Danforth MP Julie Dabrusin to serve as minister of environment and climate change. Dabrusin steps into the post held under Trudeau by Steven Guilbeault, who drew the ire of the energy industry and its political allies. Immediately following Dabrusin’s appointment, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith attacked her, too. Smith promptly took to social media after the swearing-in ceremony on May 13 to call Dabrusin “another anti-oil and gas Environment Minister.” [A subscription is required to access this full story]
The US agriculture secretary has said the UK could take more US wood pellets as biomass amid ongoing trade talks. Brooke Rollins told reporters the US is ‘100% confident’ that the country’s wood chips adhere to UK sustainability requirements. Rollins met with UK energy secretary Ed Miliband and energy minister Michael Shanks on 13 May. Her visit to London saw her promoting agricultural produce – including US wood pellets. This is despite ongoing questions surrounding the actual sustainability of the biomass sector. In particular, Drax, which is subsidised by the UK taxpayer, has come under scrutiny on several occasions.
FALLON, Nev. – A proposed wood pellet processing plant in Churchill County is facing significant opposition from nearby residents who say it’s a great project in the wrong place. The facility, which would operate 24/7, is being proposed on McLean Road in Fallon. The man behind the proposal, Alex Pedan, is seeking a special use permit to open the plant, but neighbors are raising red flags over concerns about noise, dust, and declining property values. Amber Sanchez lives near the site and says she was notified about the proposal on April 29. She’s concerned that not everyone in her neighborhood received the same letter. …During Wednesday night’s Churchill County Planning Commission meeting, residents filled the room to speak out against the plan. Some said they supported the idea of a wood pellet business — just not in a residential or agricultural area. …In response to community concerns, Pedan claimed the plant’s equipment would be housed indoors, within a sound-insulated structure.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — 
The UK could potentially take more US wood pellets to burn for electricity amid ongoing trade talks, Donald Trump’s agriculture secretary has said. Brooke Rollins, who met with Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Energy Minister Michael Shanks on Tuesday, said America is “100% confident” that its wood chips meet the UK’s sustainability requirements. Ms Rollins has been promoting US agricultural produce, including American wood pellets, on a visit to London this week as trade talks between the two countries continue following the preliminary deal struck on Thursday. But the biomass sector has long faced accusations of sourcing and burning wood from environmentally important or rare forests. Campaign and media investigations have alleged that Drax, which runs the UK’s biggest power station in Yorkshire, has used wood from environmentally important forests in North America.
The same exoskeleton principles that protect grasshoppers, crabs and similar creatures could also help protect the 25,000 or so workers in the job with the highest injury and fatality rates in America: forestry. “Forestry is vitally important to our economy and our standard of living, but its workers pay a high price, with an injury rate that is 40 percent higher than the average of all other industries and fatality rates that are 20 to 30 times higher,” said Jeong Ho “Jay” Kim, PhD, a systems engineering expert with the Texas A&M University School of Public Health. In a recent 
Dozens of firefighters from British Columbia arrived in Manitoba over the weekend to help local first responders battle an out-of-control wildfire in northern Manitoba. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said Friday he put out a call to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) for help from other jurisdictions to fight the flames. British Columbia responded, sending 42 firefighters. “I’m just happy to say that B.C. has answered the call. We’re there for other provinces. I know they’ll be there for us,” Kinew said at a news conference Friday. According to Manitoba’s fire map, a 20,000-hectare fire west of The Pas was still burning out of control as of Monday morning. It broke out over a week ago, engulfing 100 hectares, with heavy winds and little moisture causing it to more than quadruple in size in 24 hours.
Wildfire crews from British Columbia are expected to join first responders in Manitoba on Monday to help them battle the largest out-of-control blaze in the province at the moment. “We are at the place right now and, and in this season with current conditions and activity on the landscape that we can provide these couple of unit crews,” B.C. Wildfire Service spokesperson Erika Berg told CBC News on Sunday. The fire — one of two blazes north of The Pas, a town more than 500 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg … grew from 100 hectares to 6,600 within four days. Premier Wab Kinew first announced the deployment of B.C. crews in Manitoba on Friday at an unrelated news conference where he thanked the province for its support. 
ATIKOKAN — A forest fire forced the closure of a section of Highway 11 in Northwestern Ontario. Ontario 511 reported the closure of both lanes of the highway at 5:27 pm EDT Monday. The road was blocked between Highway 623 at Sapawe and Highway 633 near Kawene. According to witnesses at the scene, Ministry of Natural Resources waterbombers were working steadily on the fire. The MNR estimated the fire had burned 180 hectares by 8:30 pm, and listed the outbreak as “not under control.”
KENORA — The largest wildfire of the season in Northwestern Ontario has consumed 1,300 hectares of forest, but Ministry of Natural Resources crews have been aided by more favourable weather conditions. Heading into the weekend, there were concerns about the fire’s proximity to Wabaseemoong Independent Nations, as it was only 12 kilometres to the south and the fire was exhibiting some extreme behaviour. However, there was minimal growth on the fire’s perimeter on Saturday, and the wind changed direction, blowing from the south to direct fire activity and smoke away from the community. The MNR expects southerly winds will persist for a few days.
Favourable winds and provincial firefighting efforts have led to the cancellation of a stage one evacuation for Wabaseemoong Independent Nations as a large forest fire burns nearby. The fire, known as Kenora 14, was discovered on Thursday 12 kilometres from Wabaseemoong. It has since grown to more than 1,000 hectares in size, and is not under control. “We had another update meeting (Sunday) morning, and it looked promising that we won’t have to do any evacuation,” said Waylon Scott, chief of Wabaseemoong. “We were at the midst of doing a stage one evacuation, which is basically the vulnerable population.” Scott said the evacuation has now been put on hold. Chris Marchand, fire information officer with Ontario’s Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services (AFFES), said southerly winds have kept the fire from advancing any closer to Wabaseemoong, and helped keep smoke out of the community.
Severe wildfires raging in a Siberian region of Russia have engulfed more than 600,000 hectares of forest, local authorities have warned. In the Eastern Siberian territory of Zabaykalsky Krai, a federal-level state of emergencies has been in place since late April, Russian state news agency TASS reported. Despite huge efforts to tackle wildfire outbreaks in the region, which borders Mongolia, 49 forest fires continue to burn, with a total area exceeding 629,000 hectares, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said Wednesday. Since the beginning of this year, more than 1.4 million hectares of land have been affected by wildfires, according to figures from Russia’s Federal Agency for Forestry published on Tuesday, about three times the total area affected by fires in the United States and Canada so far this year combined.