Blog Archives

Business & Politics

Power plant key to Williams Lake economy on the verge of shutdown

By Simon Little and Paul Johnston
Global News
February 14, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

The City of Williams Lake, B.C., is calling on the province to step in to prevent the closure of a power plant critical to local employment and the municipality’s bottom line. The Atlantic Power facility generates enough electricity to power about 50,000 homes by burning wood waste… The Atlantic Power plant gave notice last February that it was going to pull out of the community, citing an inability to remain profitable under its current contract with BC Hydro. Williams Lake City Councillor Scott Nelson said that’s because, with the closure of local sawmills and upgrades to others to improve their efficiency, easy-to-access wood fibre has become more scarce. Instead, the company now sources inputs from the surrounding Chilcotin Plateau, collecting the waste wood left by wildfires and dead wood that could become fuel for future wildfires, he said.

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Trump fires thousands of US Parks, Forest Service workers: ‘It’s like having the rug pulled out from under me’

By Eric Wilkinson
King 5 News
February 17, 2025
Category: Business & Politics

For Chelsea Kollmar, it was a dream job — a dream that came to a nightmarish ending with an email on Friday.  This was to be Kollmar’s ninth summer working for the U.S. Forest Service, something she hoped to turn into a full-time career. The email announcing she had been fired stated, “The Agency finds, based on your performance, that you have not demonstrated that your further employment at the Agency would be in the public interest.” “That’s garbage,” Kollmar said flatly. “We all work very hard. It’s a lot of work.” … About 4,400 U.S. Park and Forest Service workers will soon be without jobs. While firefighters will not be impacted by the job cuts, those who assist them will be. Those are the people who cut down dangerous trees, clear trails and provide support. 

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Finance & Economics

How tariff threats are already making Canada’s housing crisis worse

CBC News – The National
February 24, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada

A U.S.-Canada trade war would undoubtedly drive up the cost of building supplies, but as CBC’s Lauren Bird explains, even just the threat of tariffs is already stalling some construction projects as Canada tries to fight its way out of a housing crisis.

Read the print article from CBC News here: The threat of a tariff war is already driving up housing costs

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Yukoner makes chairs from fire-killed wood, as association pushes for easier access to deadwood

By Julien Greene
CBC News
February 18, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

From Ulrich Trachsel’s driveway, just west of Whitehorse, you can see the deep orange slash of the Takhini burn — a visible scar from a past wildfire. Stands of trees that even from a distance look like toothpicks fringe the spine of a hill. Trachsel uses trees like these to make furniture. “I just see all this wood around and I want to use it,” he said. “I just started to really appreciate dead standing wood and how convenient it is — and also how pretty it is.” Most lumber sold in the Yukon is trucked up from places like Alberta and British Columbia… Right now, the majority of wood commercially harvested in the Yukon is sold as firewood… Peter Wright, executive director of the Yukon Wood Products Association, said he wants to see more local timber used not just as a heat source.

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Eco Guardian Announces Upcoming Sustainable Packaging Manufacturing Facility in Ontario

Cision Newswire
February 25, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada East

Eco Guardian, a leading innovator in sustainable packaging solutions is proud to announce the upcoming opening of its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Ontario, set to be fully operational in Q4 2025. This strategic expansion enhances Eco Guardian’s ability to produce high-quality, compostable, and recyclable paper cups and bowls in Canada, reducing dependency on foreign imports and reinforcing the ‘Made in Canada’ movement… Eco Guardian’s facility will produce 100% compostable and recyclable paper products, meeting the highest environmental standards. The company is committed to reducing carbon footprints by leveraging sustainable raw materials, cutting-edge manufacturing processes, and responsible sourcing practices.

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Sterling Structural Announces New Mass Timber Workforce Training Tool

GlobeNewswire
February 24, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States

Sterling Structural, a leading manufacturer of cost-effective, pre-fabricated mass timber and hybrid structural systems in North America, today announced the availability of a new Mass Timber Mock-up training kit. The kit is designed to help vocational schools, training programs and unions educate and train the construction industry workforce on the emerging use of Mass Timber in a wide range of structures. The kit includes everything needed to construct a mock-up of a small-scale mass timber building. It’s designed to educate and train installers on the fundamentals of mass timber construction. This hands-on learning tool showcases key components of prefabricated CLT and glulam systems, demonstrating best practices for installation, connection detailing, and material handling.

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Cambium Introduces Carbon Smart™ Wood for Mass Timber: The First Cross-Laminated Timber Product Made from Salvaged Wood

WebWire
February 25, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States

Cambium, the supply chain technology company revolutionizing the wood industry with sustainable materials and smarter supply and logistics, today announced the launch of Carbon Smart™ Wood for mass timber, the industry’s first cross-laminated timber (CLT) product made from salvaged wood… The launch marks a significant advancement for the mass timber market. The product will enable developers to meet environmental targets efficiently, provide architects with versatile, sustainable materials, and give builders access to high-quality products that accelerate construction timelines. The result is a solution that drives economic growth and local communities’ environmental stewardship.

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Is it time to normalise mass timber in construction?

By Nick Hewson
Architecture Australia
February 25, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

Humans have been building with wood for thousands of years, but the last few decades have seen a renaissance in timber construction with the rise of mass timber. Products like cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glue-laminated timber (GLT) have exploded in popularity recently with ever larger and more elaborate buildings completed. Australia has been punching above its weight on a global stage with several landmark examples attracting worldwide acclaim… Many projects delivered so far have been relatively “purist” buildings with most components made from mass timber but products are becoming normalised to a point where we can pick the right material for the right job. Timber is an incredibly capable material, but can be limited in some applications, so often a hybrid approach is a better way to get timber into more projects.

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Forestry

Prescribed Burn Planned To Start February 27th Within The Williams Lake Community Forest

By Pat Matthews
mycariboonow.com
February 26, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

BC Wildfire Service, in partnership with Williams Lake Community Forest and Williams Lake First Nation, will conduct a prescribed burn approximately 10 kilometres West of Williams Lake, North of Highway 20, beside the Fraser River. “The prescribed burn will cover approximately 29 hectares within the Williams Lake Community Forest,” Jeromy Corrigan, Information Officer at the Cariboo Fire Centre said, “Burning is expected to begin as early as Thursday, February 27, and continue periodically until Sunday, March 2.” Corrigan said ignitions will proceed only if conditions are suitable and allow for quick smoke dissipation.

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Ancient Indigenous artform gets high-tech help at Saanich’s Camosun College

Victoria News
February 27, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Camosun College says their applied research and business innovation arm – Camosun Innovates – has developed a “ground breaking” technology that allows totem pole carving using sustainable second-growth cedar that combines traditional Indigenous art practices with modern engineering. Originally imagined by Indigenous artist Carey Newman, the apparatus allows carvers to work with multiple beams of second-growth cedar instead of old-growth logs. The project, which Newman calls ‘Totem 2.0’, emerged from what he says is a deep commitment to preserving old-growth trees while advancing traditional art forms… The custom-designed carving apparatus features a rotation mechanism that allows carvers to position source timber for access from any angle, what they say is a significant ergonomic innovation. The apparatus has been intentionally designed so that it can be disassembled to fit in a pickup truck for easy transport, facilitating use by multiple artists and communities.

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Okanagan producers of a documentary focused on wildfires ask for funds to finish their project

By Rob Gibson
Castanet
February 24, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

A retired forester and a Kelowna entrepreneur have joined forces to produce a documentary focused on British Columbia’s wildfire crisis by exploring forest management solutions. The project is the brainchild of Rick Maddison, who lost his home in the 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park wildfire, and retired forester Murray Wilson. The pair teamed up to create a film focused on solutions rather than the devastation. The documentary is being produced by the Kelowna’s Distill Media, and filming has taken place throughout B.C., Nevada, and California. The documentary focuses on innovative forest management techniques designed to make wildfires more controllable and less destructive and features interviews with leading experts… The team is hoping to raise $45,000 to finish the production and distribution of their film.

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Kaslo and District Community Forest Society meeting discusses salvaging burned trees and fire mitigation

By Samantha Holomay
Castanet
February 25, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Kaslo and District Community Forest Society (KDCFS) revisited previous board discussions about future logging plans needed to mitigate fires. During a Feb. 20 meeting, KDCFS members highlighted the demand for cedar and fir while highlighting that several blocks of hemlock trees have been damaged by past fires, rendering some unusable. The Briggs Creek fire that occurred in 2022 led to the destruction of many hemlock trees that will need to be harvested in the next two years before deteriorating. Society forester and treasurer Jeff Mattes explained that the society’s logging plans for the year 2025 will include utilizing a patch-cut system to reserve some of the trees. A patch-cut system refers to the removal of an entire stand of trees less than one hectare.

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Northeastern co-op student in Vancouver develops affordable wildfire detection technology

By Kate Rix
Northeastern Global News – Northeastern University
February 24, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Devices used to detect and prevent wildfires in remote forests are expensive, but the one that Northeastern University student Anson He is making will be cheaper to launch on drones over dense woodlands. He is pursuing his master’s degree in computer science at Northeastern’s Vancouver campus. In January, he started a co-op at Bayes Studio — a Vancouver company that uses robotics and machine learning to make forest fire detection tools. He is helping to produce a device that uses less expensive components than others on the market. His role is core to the small company’s success: He is in charge of prototyping the hardware and coding the software for what Bayes calls its Edge device.  Other team members work on integrating artificial intelligence into the device’s functionality and connecting the device to servers.

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Eby vows to cut ‘red tape’ for B.C. resource and energy projects — citing tariff threats

By Shannon Waters
The Narwhal
February 18, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

B.C.’s main response to the tariff threat from the United States so far is a vague plan to “expedite” 18 energy and mining projects — a commitment reiterated in the throne speech, which said the province will “speed up permitting and regulatory approvals” for major resource and energy projects. The selected projects include nine previously announced wind projects the government had already exempted from environmental assessments.  The preliminary list of expedited projects also includes the& North Coast transmission line to power the liquefied natural gas (LNG), mining and other industries, the Cedar LNG export facility the government had already approved, two natural gas pipelines and four mining projects. Eby had already announced that the transmission line, which will dodge an environmental assessment, will get speedy permitting… Details on exactly how the province intends to approve those projects faster remain scarce, but the push to fast-track major projects is drawing criticism from some environmental advocates, First Nations and opposition MLAs.

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The Kootenays are getting drier. A small B.C. community worries more logging puts its water at risk

By Steph Kwetasel’wet Wood
The Narwhal
February 19, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Wynndel is about halfway between Nelson and Cranbrook in the Kootenays in southeast British Columbia. Private logging is widespread in the region. Some communities have tried pushing back, but their efforts have run up against private ownership and lax regulations. After residents of Glade, a nearby community, mounted a legal challenge to private logging near their community water supply, a B.C. Supreme Court judge concluded British Columbians do not have any inherent right to clean drinking water… In 2019, the province announced a review of the Private Managed Forest Lands Act, but no amendments to the act have been made. The ministry said it is still working with the Private Forest Landowners Association and Managed Forest Council “to modernize the Private Managed Forest Land Program.”.. According to the province, just over one million hectares (or around one per cent of the province) is privately managed forest land.

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New information on what caused deaths of two endangered spotted owls in British Columbia

By Michele Brunoro
CTV News
February 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

More information has come to light about the deaths of two endangered northern spotted owls released into the wild last year. According to the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, the two male owls were moved to an aviary in a protected forest in the Fraser Valley last June and subsequently released into the wild. In a statement, the ministry said that a necropsy on one of the owls found that “he was emaciated, and his diminished condition was severe enough to cause death.” The statement indicates it’s likely the other owl “succumbed to a predator.” The latest deaths mean that six spotted owls raised in captivity and then released from a conservation breeding program in Langley have died.

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Will the Fix our Forests Act fix our forests? The right way?

By Reuben M. Schafir
The Durango Herald
February 25, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

After a century of wildfire suppression across the West, it’s no secret that the approach to forest management has needed to change. And change is, and has been, underway. But newly proposed changes, now in the form of legislation that would let fuel mitigation projects, including logging, in high-risk zones like the forest surrounding Durango skirt the public input process have some environmental groups up in arms. The Fix Our Forests Act passed the House on Jan. 23 in a vote with the support of 215 Republicans and 64 Democrats, over the opposition of 141 Democrats. If it passes the Senate and is signed into law, the law would direct cabinet secretaries who oversee land management agencies, namely the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, to designate high-priority firesheds and create a registry of those landscapes. In those areas, the bill outlines a slate of vegetation management tactics that would be exempt from the scrutinous review prescribed in the National Environmental Policy Act.

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U.S. Forest Service Firings Wreak Havoc on Careers, Endanger Rural Areas

By Ilana Newman
The Daily Yonder
February 25, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

National forests are vital to rural economies. The outdoor recreation industry contributed 1.2 trillion dollars to the American economy in 2023, according to the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable. This includes hunting, boating, skiing, RVing, fishing, hiking, and so much more — most of which would not exist without our public lands like those managed by the U.S Forest Service. That number also includes the hotels, restaurants and retail stores that support visitors that are participating in outdoor recreation, usually located in small towns surrounded by public lands. On February 24th, a source revealed that seasonal firefighters may be in the next round of terminations. A wildland firefighter in Southwest Colorado who did not want to be named said that he was asked to make a list of seasonal firefighters to prioritize for future eliminations. He said that they were told that the Southwest Colorado district would have a 20-22% cut in seasonal firefighters. “Everyone’s afraid for their jobs,” he said.

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Oregon forestry department to plant 2.3 million tree seedlings this year

By Jashayla Pettigrew
KOIN.com
February 25, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The Oregon Department of Forestry plans to plant around 2.3 million seedlings throughout more than 6,100 acres of harvested timber statewide. The agency announced that planting will soon occur across the Tillamook, Clatsop and Santiam forests. It is set to begin in the Sun Pass and Gilchrist forests later in May, with planting taking between six weeks to eight weeks — depending on factors like weather and soil conditions… The department revealed that planting seedlings has become more difficult since the Private Forest Accord was added to the Forest Practices Act in 2023. The new accord enforced further new requirements for maintaining forest roads and further monitoring for rule compliance, among other changes impacting private and non-federal forests throughout Oregon.

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Timber builds dreams at 87th Annual Oregon Logging Conference

By Reed Perry
The News Review
February 23, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The 87th Annual Oregon Logging Conference (OLC) took place from Thursday to Saturday, February 20-22, at the Lane County Fairgrounds in Eugene. The theme for this year’s event, “Timber Builds Dreams,” reflected the growing impact of timber on Oregon’s economy and landscape as technology transforms the industry… On Friday, Feb. 21, more than 900 high school students from 33 schools participated in the 7th Annual Future Forestry Career Day. This invitation-only event offered students hands-on experiences in fields such as engineering, wildland firefighting, trucking, diesel mechanics, welding, and heavy equipment operation. Additionally, twelve high school teams competed in a forestry skills relay, showcasing their expertise in tasks such as choker setting and chainsaw use.

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Reviews range widely to Forest Service’s draft ‘biography’ of Tongass as part of management plan update

By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Empire
February 24, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

A familiar range of comments about logging, fishing, tourism and tribal issues are being expressed in response to a draft “biography” of the Tongass National Forest, with the 45-day comment period ending Monday as part of the agency’s years-long effort to update its management plan for the forest. A big unknown, however, is if that biography and other aspects of the management plan will be drastically reshaped by the Trump administration’s wholesale overhaul of the federal government, including large staffing cuts and an executive order mandating the repeal of federal regulations that inhibit maximum utilization of Alaska’s natural resources… An affirmation that a shift in priorities will occur under the Trump administration was offered by federal officials participating in a Feb. 11 panel discussion at the Southeast Conference’s Mid-Season Summit in Juneau.

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Conservation Groups File Lawsuit to Protect Elk Habitat, Wildlife Corridors and Old Growth Forests in Montana

By Mike Garrety
CounterPunch
February 20, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Native Ecosystems Council and Council on Wildlife and Fish filed a lawsuit in federal court in Montana against a road-building and commercial logging project on public lands in the Big Belt Mountains of Montana. The challenged Wood Duck project is located in a wildlife corridor that is critical for recovery of grizzly bears, and is highly desirable elk habitat.  Logging and road building harm elk and grizzly bears and will likely displace both species from the public lands in the area. The lawsuit raises challenges against the project, and also against the Forest Service’s failure to implement strong protections for public land elk habitat, grizzly bear travel corridors, and old growth forest across the Helena – Lewis and Clark National Forest.

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Remember that big SDS Timber land sale? Here’s what’s happening with that forest

By Kendra Chamberlain
Columbia Insight
February 19, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Back in 2021, the SDS Lumber and Timber Company’s sale of its extensive mill properties and nearly 100,000 acres of Pacific Northwest forest reserves to sent a shockwave through the Columbia River Gorge as well as the global timber industry. Now, through a complex partnership agreement, nearly all of the forests formerly owned by SDS in southwestern Washington are remaining open to logging, while being protected against future commercial or residential development.  The Columbia Land Trust has announced a $36 million award from the U.S. Forest Service that will go toward establishing a new conservation easement on a 29,000-acre piece of former SDS Lumber land… Keeping timberlands as “working forests,” rather than carving up the land into commercial or residential parcels, is considered a major conservation win, according to Columbia Land Trust Executive Director Meg Rutledge.

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New Washington state public lands chief defends pause on logging ‘almost old-growth forests’

By Libby Denkmann and Alec Cowan
The Chronicle
February 19, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Dave Upthegrove

Can Washington state hold off harvesting older forests in the face of a projected $12 billion budget deficit without impacting local governments and school districts that get money from those timber sales? That’s the big question facing Dave Upthegrove, Washington’s new Public Lands commissioner. As one of his first acts on the job, Upthegrove did what he promised to do on the campaign trail — pause the harvest of timber from 70,000 to 80,000 acres of older forests that don’t yet qualify as “old-growth” but still are old enough to provide valuable habitat. Upthegrove said the pause on logging older forests would be offset by increasing harvests in younger forests. He also said the fact that timber values have gone up should dampen the blow.

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It’s not clear how the Trump administration may affect the management guide for federal forests across the Pacific Northwest

By Michael Dotson
Ashland News
February 19, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The U.S. Forest Service is at a crossroads in 2025. As the Trump administration takes hold and federal employees are dealing with threats of termination from Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, the agency is set to wrap up a 120-day comment period on March 17 to amend the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan. Meant to guide forest stewardship across more than 20 million acres in the Pacific Northwest, the original Northwest Forest Plan left tribes and Indigenous communities out of the negotiating room. Climate change was barely mentioned in 1994, and here we are 30 years later addressing issues that are important to many communities across Northern California, western Oregon, and western Washington… It remains to be seen what the Trump administration will do with the Northwest Forest Plan amendment effort, and there is potential that it could go the way of the National Old Growth Amendment and be abandoned.

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Land Trust’s third phase adds almost 30K acres to working forest

By Flora Martin Gibson
Columbia Gorge News
February 18, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Another 29,800 acres of timberland just got conserved under easement as working forest, the third phase in Columbia Land Trust’s project of protecting about 75,000 acres, sold by SDS lumber company in 2021. Columbia Land Trust hopes to conserve almost everything except the mill itself, buying the most important 15,000 acres of habitat outright. They hope to put the other 60,000 under conservation easements. In this case, Washington’s Department of Natural Resources will hold some of the rights over the 29,800 acres of land. It can be sold, but never developed; it must always remain working forest. This is the trust’s biggest project to date… SDS Lumber was the last family-owned, vertically-integrated (meaning it owned and operated most stages of its own supply chain) timber company in this part of the Northwest.

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Opinion: Furor over Forest Park power line a glimpse of climate tradeoffs ahead

By Angus Duncan, Guest Columnist
Oregon Live
February 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

A small but important drama is playing out now in a city of Portland land use decision involving power lines, Portland General Electric and five acres of Douglas Fir at the north end of Forest Park… The land-use fight obliges us to confront uncomfortable tradeoffs. Carbon from burning fossil fuels in power plants and automobile engines drives climate change. Shifting to zero-carbon wind and solar electricity drives down climate risk – including the risk of wildfire. Connecting new wind and solar to Portland will require upgraded and new transmission lines across many prairie and forestlands. Where we can avoid impacts to community, cultural and natural values, we should. But it is a vexing fact of our climate-altered world that where we can’t, we have to make these tradeoffs.

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The fire paradox: Tree-ring data shows wildfire activity has declined, not increased

By Elena Lopez
University of Arizona
February 17, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Photo Credit: Peter Brown

Contrary to what people might think, North American forests are burning less, not more, according to new data. A study published in Nature Communications reveals how this trend may be causing more aggressive fires… Using a fire scar dataset known as the North American Tree-Ring Fire Scar Network, which originated from work done at the University of Arizona Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, researchers were able to compile a clearer picture of historical fire geography and frequency. This allowed them to compare recent seemingly extreme wildfire events – such as the California August Complex Fire and the Arizona Bighorn Fire of 2020 – with events from the past… The fire scar data used in the study was collected from more than 1,800 sites across North America, spanning diverse forest types.

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Indianapolis program killed by federal government sought diversity … among trees

By Karl Schneider
IndyStar
February 26, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

The US Department of Agriculture revoked a federal tree-planting grant to Keep Indianapolis Beautiful in a move the nonprofit’s CEO Kranowitz said may be the result of anti-DEI initiatives coming from the Trump Administration. The money would have helped KIB plant more trees throughout the city, and those plantings should not be all the same kind of tree, Kranowitz explained. The $400,000 grant for urban forestry projects was awarded to the organization in January through the Arbor Day Foundation, but was then clawed back on Tuesday. There’s growing evidence that words like “biodiversity” are being targeted by federal agencies bent on terminating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives across the country. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins recently cancelled a federal contract in Hawaii for an agency meeting on biodiversity and has identified and canceled other training programs on environmental justice claiming they run “contrary to the values of millions of American taxpayers.”

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Tree Genetics: Understanding the White Oak for a Sustainable Tomorrow

WGNS News
February 19, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

A group of scientists has been quietly working for decades on a project to improve tree genetics, with white oaks among the target species for the UT Tree Improvement Program. For those who are curious, genetics in organisms refers to the study of genes and how they are passed down from generation to generation. Genetics in trees, however, focuses on the study of genes within tree species and examines how their genetic makeup influences traits such as growth rate, wood quality, and resilience to environmental stresses. Scott Schlarbaum, a distinguished professor of forestry at UTIA, leads the UT Tree Improvement Program and is among the co-authors of the paper that describes the white oak genome and how local adaptations may have implications for the species in relation to heat and drought stress. Photo by A. Mains, courtesy UTIA.

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Gov. Mike Braun joins Indiana locals in long-held opposition against proposed forest project

By Casey Smith
Indiana Capital Chronicle
February 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

A recent letter penned by Indiana Gov. Mike Braun urged federal officials to “immediately withdraw” a controversial plan to log and burn nearly 20,000 acres of The Hoosier National Forest. The Buffalo Springs Restoration Project, proposed by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), seeks to log 5,000 acres and burn 15,500 acres of the national forest land in southern Indiana.  Although USFS originally estimated a decision on the project would come in January — and that work could begin early this year — a final determination is still pending. When proposed in 2021, it was pitched as a way to improve sustainability of the forest’s oak-wood ecosystem. The removal of non-native pine trees would also regenerate native hardwood communities and “improve overall forest health and wildlife habitat,” according to the federal agency. But in a letter sent last week to USFS Chief Randy Moore, Braun pointed to increasing pushback from Indiana residents, and said the project could threaten the drinking water for more than 100,000 Hoosiers.

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Texas A&M Forest Service Awards $951,000 To Landowners For Prescribed Fire

Brownwood News
February 15, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

Texas A&M Forest Service awarded over $951,000 to 168 landowners to conduct prescribed fires this year. This funding will treat 35,138 acres. Prescribed fire is a strategic land management tool that uses low-intensity fire on a specific area of land to achieve set goals. Prescribed fire is the most effective and efficient land management tool for decreasing the risk of catastrophic wildfires by reducing hazardous fuels. “Over the past 10 years, our prescribed fire grants have treated over 100,000 acres helping reduce the risk of wildfire,” said Karen Stafford, Texas A&M Forest Service Community Resiliency Coordinator. “Our prescribed fire grants prioritize wildfire mitigation and emphasize protecting homes, communities and natural ecosystems.”.. Following the burn, management goals and the ecosystem are monitored by Stafford and her team.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Climate Forest Expands to North America, Advancing Sustainable Forestry and Carbon Credit Solutions

Digital Journal Press Release
February 20, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, United States

Climate Forest, a global leader in climate forest development and carbon credit generation, has officially launched its operations in North America. This strategic expansion marks a significant step in the company’s mission to integrate sustainable forestry with economic value, providing businesses with impactful investment opportunities while enabling forest owners to generate long-term revenue. By leveraging its expertise in transforming traditional forests into climate forests, Climate Forest enhances biodiversity, promotes resilient mixed forests, and strengthens vital ecosystem services. The company’s approach aligns with global climate goals, ensuring corporate sustainability efforts translate into tangible environmental impact.

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Liberal bill would require considering wood heat for Nova Scotia public buildings

By Michael Gorman
CBC News
February 25, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada East

Liberal House leader Iain Rankin says a bill his party tabled last week at Province House would create new markets for the forestry industry while helping to heat public buildings with something other than oil. The Wood Chip Heating Systems in Public Buildings Act would require Nova Scotia government officials to consider wood heat systems in all new public buildings or in cases of major retrofits, including for schools and hospitals. In an interview last week, Rankin said there would be multiple benefits to the initiative. “For the climate, because it is a renewable resource. It could be a cost savings to the province because of the volatility of oil prices — so it’s displacing oil — and it creates a good economic advantage to areas of the province that are predominantly rural.”

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Growing climate change adaptation in Canada’s forestry sector

By Jordan Ross
University of Winnepeg
February 19, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada East

Bullock and Lamoureux

A research team at The University of Winnipeg has secured federal funding to help small businesses in Canada’s forestry sector adapt to a changing climate in ways that make financial, logistical, and environmental sense. Project Lead Dr. Ryan Bullock and Senior Research Associate Bryanne Lamoureux are overseeing the three-year research project, entitled “Maximizing Pathways to Forest Sector Adaptation by Reducing Barriers for Small Enterprise.”.. Forestry might bring to mind big names like Weyerhaeuser, but small and micro-sized companies account for 99 per cent of Canada’s forestry enterprises, making them the “front line” for implementing adaptation strategies, Lamoureux said… Lamoureux listed several aspects of forestry and logging that could unlock workable solutions with the right research behind them. “What if we take the mill to the woods?”

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Opinion: Climate Change Is About Economics, Not Politics

By Barclay Rogers, CEO of Graphyte
Carbon Herald
February 24, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States

Barclay Rogers

Americans have made a habit out of making even the most universal issues politically polarized. The serious weather risks we’ve faced recently are no exception. But is our warming climate really a political issue that divides Americans? The reality is it should be a powerful opportunity to modernize our infrastructure, create permanent new jobs here at home, and build entire new industries of the future. This is an economics issue, not a political one… We need to keep the lights on and address the economic consequences of climate change. Knowing we’re not in a position to get rid of fossil energy any time soon, the focus should be on: (1) using the lowest-carbon intensity, lowest-cost energy sources available, and (2) limiting, or otherwise removing, the greenhouse gas emissions associated with them.

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In Chile, a Declining Forest Worries Scientists

By Andres Muedano
Inside Climate News
February 8, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

Over the last 15 years, Chile has faced a devastating drought. Higher temperatures and lower rainfall have severely affected the country’s sclerophyllous forests—one of only five Mediterranean ecosystems in the world, best known for its hardy, evergreen vegetation. In the last few years, tree canopies have also browned at unprecedented levels, losing their green color and ability to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Additionally, deforestation—driven by urban expansion and the introduction of non-native tree species—has fragmented the forests into multiple, smaller patches… A study published Feb. 10 in the journal Science of the Total Environment estimates the level of risk faced by all individual sclerophyll forest stands, in the central and coastal zones of Chile, often at altitudes from 4,500 to 7,200 feet.

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Mercedes to support restoration of biodiverse forest through Chestnut Carbon collaboration

Formula 1
February 14, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

Mercedes’ Formula 1 team have joined forces with nature-based carbon developer Chestnut Carbon to support high-quality carbon removal projects across the Southeastern United States. Aiming to deliver “impactful climate projects that scale the rejuvenation of damaged land”, the first initiative will involve restoring 200 hectares of degraded agricultural acreage into vibrant biodiverse forests through the planting of more than 260,000 native trees. Chestnut Carbon’s projects focus on land previously used for monocrops and methane-heavy cattle production, with the developer so far planting over 10 million trees with a diverse mix of native pine and 18 different hardwood species – efforts that will capture and remove over one million tonnes of carbon by 2040. While emissions reduction remain Mercedes F1’s “primary focus”, the team note that “some areas within our carbon footprint may have residual emissions which will require removals of the highest quality”.

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Health & Safety

Wood products manufacturer fined over £1M after 2 workers suffer severe injuries less than 6 months apart

By Alexis Gajewski
Plant Services
February 19, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: International

An investigation conducted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety, has determined that West Fraser (Europe) Ltd, formerly known as Norbord, could have prevented two safety incidents that resulted in two employees being injured. The incidents occurred within six months of each other in 2020 at the company’s Cowie facility. This is the second time in five years this company has been handed a large fine for failing to protect workers. West Fraser has a history of health and safety violations. In 2022, the company, which manufactures wood-based products, was fined more than £2million after a worker suffered serious burns and ultimately died from their injuries.

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Forest History & Archives

Old Mill Heritage Centre to celebrate 100th anniversary

By Tom Sasvari
The Manitoulin Expositor
February 19, 2025
Category: Forest History & Archives
Region: Canada, Canada East

With the Old Mill in Kagawong celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, museum curator Rick Nelson said a couple of events will take place to commemorate this milestone. The museum board is also endeavoring to have a tabletop pictorial book on the history of the building published. “The Old Mill is celebrating its 100th golden anniversary this year and we are making plans for several celebrations to take place,” said Mr. Nelson… Construction of the two-storey pulp mill in Kagawong began in the spring of 1925. At that time, it would have been the only pulp mill on Manitoulin Island. By December of that year the first pulp was produced, ground from spruce and shipped by boat to Wisconsin to be made into paper for Sears-Roebuck catalogues. Spruce was abundently available and was needed to give the Sears-Roebuck catalogue pages a shiny finish.

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