BC Forest Minister Doug Donaldson announced funding to protect and increase BC’s caribou population last Friday. Meanwhile, a Vancouver Island coalition is calling on his government to protect drinking water; and a retired forester counsels AAC caution due to uncertainty of climate change’s impact on BC’s second growth forests.

Companies in the news include:

• No tax relief for Domtar and Tolko due to the closure of Lafarge’s cement plant in Kamloops
• EACOM calls attention to nationwide skilled worker shortage in forestry
• Ontario fines Domtar’s Espanola pulp and paper mill for 2016 spill
• Idaho Forest Group acquires Merritt Brothers’ finger joint mill in Idaho
• Kane Hardwood dimension mill is closing in northern Pennsylvania

Finally, the newest threat to California’s redwoods is… the cannabis industry; and the BC Forest Safety Council raises awareness of the hazards posed by wildfires and beetle-kill stands.

–Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor