Category Archives: Forestry

Forestry

Canada is considering a national wildfire agency. Kim Connors says it should focus elsewhere

By Matthew McClearn
The Globe and Mail
October 12, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Kim Connors

As Canada suffered one of the most destructive fire seasons in its history, Eleanor Olszewski, the federal emergency management minister, floated the idea of creating a federal agency to co-ordinate the country’s response to natural disasters, including wildfire. …Kim Connors, who retired this year as executive director of the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, spent more than four decades fighting wildfires, including as director of provincial wildfire programs in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan. He spoke to The Globe and Mail about why he opposes Ms. Olszewski’s proposal, and why Canadians should start preparing now for next year’s fire season. …We really need to focus on the mitigation side and building true whole-of-society programs that are strong in practice, not just in rhetoric. …Ottawa needs to establish long-term funding to support FireSmart Canada in reaching all provinces and territories and within the national parks. [A subscription to the Globe and Mail is required for full story access]

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CIF-IFC Announces 2025 National Award Recipients in Recognition of Outstanding and Unique Accomplishments to Forestry in Canada

By Rachel Brown
Canadian Institute of Forestry
October 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Mattawa, ON – The Canadian Institute of Forestry (CIF-IFC) is pleased to announce the 2025 CIF-IFC National Award recipients. “Each year, the CIF-IFC presents a number of Awards in recognition of outstanding and unique accomplishments to forestry in Canada,” mentioned Curtis Cook, CIF-IFC Executive Director. “Recipients have earned distinction through demonstration of exceptional achievements in the field of forestry.” The Awards were presented at the 2025 CIF-IFC Annual National Awards Ceremony and Banquet on October 6, 2025 at the Delta Hotels by Marriott in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The Institute would like to extend our congratulations to all the award recipients for 2025—your remarkable achievements truly deserve to be celebrated!

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Experts at Thunder Bay conference say Canada’s forests are drying out

By Rajpreet Sahota
CBC News
October 8, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Patrick James

As Canada faces longer, more intense wildfire seasons, forestry scientists meeting the Canadian Institute of Forestry’s 117th annual conference this week say the country’s forests are drying out faster than ever, and that could transform how we manage them in the decades to come. …Among the most urgent topics is how heat and drought are changing forest moisture and fuel levels, the materials that feed wildfires. “Modest increases in temperature result in very significant reductions in fuel moisture, which makes those fuels, these trees, these shrubs, these downed trees, this dead wood, all of it that much more flammable,” said Patrick James, associate professor at the University of Toronto researching forest disturbances and wildfires. …He took part in a panel which examined how shifting weather patterns could both challenge and, in some rare cases, benefit certain ecosystems.

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UBC’s Faculty of Forestry receives two awards from the Canadian Institute of Forestry

UBC Faculty of Forestry
October 7, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Stephanie Ewan, Hélène Marcoux & Ionut Aron

Jeff Sayer

UBC’s Faculty of Forestry is proud to announce its received two prestigious awards from the Canadian Institute of Forestry (CIF-IFC). Each year, CIF-IFC recognizes individuals and groups who have made “unique and outstanding achievements in the field of forestry” and this year the Faculty is well-represented. UBC Research Forests has received the Canadian Forest Management Group Achievement Award and Professor Jeff Sayer has received the International Forestry Achievement Award. The Canadian Forest Management Group Achievement Award recognizes the outstanding achievements by teams or groups of managers in the field of natural resource management in Canada. The 2025 CIF-IFC National Award Committee has recognized the Malcolm Knapp Research Forest (MKRF), near Maple Ridge, and the Alex Fraser Research Forest (AFRF), near Williams Lake, for their pivotal role in advancing forest education, research, and management across British Columbia and beyond.

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Domtar Releases First Post-Integration Sustainability Report, Marking a Milestone Toward 2030 Goals

Domtar
October 7, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, United States

FORT MILL, South Carolina — In a major stride towards its ambitious 2030 sustainability strategy, Domtar released its sustainability report. The report, entitled Building on Strong Legacies, is the first comprehensive release since the successful operational unification of Domtar’s three legacy companies last October under the Domtar brand. “This report delivers an initial view of our unified company’s performance across a comprehensive set of sustainability indicators,” said John D. Williams, Non-Executive Chairman. “It marks a pivotal milestone following the May 2025 release of our 2030 sustainability strategy.” …Qualitative content within the report is structured with reference to the three strategic pillars of Environmental Stewardship, Our People and Communities, and Responsible Business. …”We are consolidating our sustainability report and unifying our CDP submissions, ensuring everyone can evaluate our environmental performance holistically as an integrated company,” said Sabrina de Branco, global chief sustainability officer.

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Nation’s forestry leaders in the city to tackle complex challenges

By Nicky Shaw
The Thunder Bay News Watch
October 7, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

THUNDER BAY — In a time where the forestry sector is under threat, industry stakeholders from across the country are gathering in the city to connect, talk about issues and learn from each other. The Canadian Institute of Forestry’s national conference and 117th annual general meeting is taking place at the Thunder Bay Delta Hotels from Oct. 5-8. The theme of the conference, Finding Opportunity in Complexity, is extremely appropriate at this point in time in Canada in general, but also in the forestry industry, said Curtis Cook, the Canadian Institute of Forestry’s executive director. …With all of these great minds in one place for the week, he said, they’re going to come up with some solutions, some innovations and have some really good conversations going forward.

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Experts talk climate change, cultural burning, cooperation at Wildfire Resilience Consortium of Canada conference

By Josh Dawson
Castanet
October 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

KAMLOOPS, BC — The impacts of climate change on wildland fires, cultural burning practices and inter-government cooperation are areas of research and interest among experts gathered by the newly-formed Wildfire Resilience Consortium of Canada. The national consortium was announced in July and received $11.7 million in funding over four years from Natural Resources Canada through the Wildfire Resilient Futures Initiative. Delegates from across Canada met for the first time on Thompson Rivers University’s campus last week for a three-day conference, which aimed to facilitate discussion, networking, and to pool knowledge. Rapid-fire presentations saw recipients of NRCan’s Building and Mobilize Foundational Wildland Fire Knowledge program speak about their projects and research studies. …Many of the presenters spoke of the increasing severity of wildfires, highlighting recent record-breaking fire seasons. University of Northern B.C. professor Che Elkin said climate change is having an impact on forest ecosystems, affecting individual tree growth and mortality.

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‘Nothing to harvest’: After unprecedented wildfires, the forestry industry is forced to adapt

By Julia-Simone Rutgers
The Narwhal
October 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Wildfire is part of the natural lifecycle of a forest; but as Manitoba continues to battle the embers of its most devastating fire season in more than 30 years, its leaders are starting to consider a more active role in managing this critical resource to stave off the flames. In early October, as more than 70 wildland fires still smouldered across the province, Premier Wab Kinew and a handful of cabinet ministers released Manitoba’s first all-encompassing plan to slash carbon emissions in the next 25 years. Among the promised initiatives was a commitment to “co-develop a wildfire prevention and preparation approach that reflects Indigenous leadership, land-based knowledge and nature-based solutions” — a first hint at how the provincial government plans to respond to the growing threat of wildfire. “We just came out of the worst wildfire season in living memory,” Environment and Climate Change Minister Mike Moyes said at a press conference for the new strategy this week.

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Clearwater society opens donation floodgates with charitable status

By Brendan Shykora
100 Mile Free Press
October 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

The Wells Gray Community Forest Society is in position to receive funds from more sources, and spread those funds throughout the region, now that it has been officially designated as a charitable organization. The Clearwater-based society received the designation by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Aug. 21. As a charitable organization, it can continue to support regional organizations by funding and undertaking charitable activities. The society now also has the ability to issue tax receipts for donations received. It is expected that the ability to issue tax receipts will increase the amount of donations received, which could potentially result in more funding available to support social and economic endeavours.

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Nature Conservancy of Canada buys Elk Valley logging lands

By Gillian Francis
The Free Press
October 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has purchased 37,000 hectares of land in the Elk Valley from Doman Building Materials Group Ltd., in one of the largest private land contributions in the country. The sale of the land closed on Sept. 29, in phase two of an acquisition for 45,000 hectares of land in the Elk Valley and surrounding area. “It’s a defining moment for nature in Canada, let alone in British Columbia,” said NCC Canadian Rockies program director Richard Klafki. …The project is the result of 20 years of effort to conserve ecologically important land in the region. …Doman, a North American building materials supplier with a Canadian office based out of Vancouver, owned the land for nine years for lumber harvesting operations before selling it to NCC. According to a news release, the company’s forestry management efforts saw 10 million new seedling planted on to the land. 

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‘Timber Titans’ Logger Boss Sig Kemmler on Why The Weather Channel’s Hit Resonates

By Scott Fishman
TV Insider
October 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Sig Kemmler

When watching Timber Titans, one thing is evident. Logging isn’t for the faint of heart. The series follows companies based in British Columbia as they battle the elements and merciless terrain in their efforts to harvest this most vital of resources. They may all share a deep rooted passion for one the region’s oldest professions, but each brings a different approach and backstories to the job. Sig Kemmler, co-owner and project manager of Integrated Operations Group, has been in the game for almost half a century. His company stands out in the industry with a proven track record built on sustainable logging and forest maintenance. This unique heli-logging operation works the western coast of Vancouver Island salvaging dead and downed timbers in the most remote locations. …Kemmler checked in from a boat anchored off Catalina Island to reflect on Season 2 and the popular series’ future. 

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Two Quesnel Indigenous students honoured for leadership in forestry

By Laísa Condé
Coast Mountain News
October 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Amy Oester

Grace Currie

Two Indigenous students from the Quesnel region were honoured for their interest in forest sector’s careers and strong commitment to their communities. Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) announced in a press release that both Amy Oester of Nazko First Nation and Grace Currie of the Métis Nation of British Columbia are this year’s recipients of the Skills Awards for Indigenous Youth. …Both Oester and Currie began their career in the forestry industry with West Fraser. Currently, Oester is a silviculture coordinator and through her work, she is bridging forestry and Indigenous knowledge, focusing on enhancing cultural inclusion and community connection. …Currie is a third-generation forestry worker and deeply committed to reconciliation and Indigenous inclusion in the industry.

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Wildwood Ecoforest gains nearly 9 hectares of ‘untouched’ land

By David Minkow
The Discourse
October 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Last week, the Wildwood Ecoforest, located in Yellow Point just north of Ladysmith, got considerably closer to its original size. A successful campaign to raise $850,000 has allowed the Ecoforestry Institute Society (EIS) to purchase 8.5 hectares of land and reunite it with the famed demonstration ecoforest. The Wildwood Ecoforest, established by Merv Wilkinson in the 1940s, has long served as an educational counterexample to modern logging practices. Ecoforestry is a type of sustainable forestry where trees are selectively harvested in such a way that the forest’s ecological integrity is kept intact. The parcel being added to the forest features meadows, a stone escarpment and a section of rare old-growth coastal Douglas fir. It has been “kept untouched” by the previous owners of the parcel, according to the Ecoforestry Institute Society’s chair Kathy Code. 

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Mosaic Forest Management Clarifies Industrial Road Access Following Bamfield Worksite Disruption

Mosaic Forest Management
October 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

NANAIMO, B.C. – Mosaic Forest Management addressed community concerns about alternative road access following an incident on October 5th that halted safety work at the Bamfield Main Road worksite. The Ministry of Transportation and Transit has assumed control of the Bamfield Main Road repairs under Section 8 of the Transportation Act, with Mosaic providing technical support. The project is targeted for completion by month’s end. The Brenner Main/Museum Main corridor … remains restricted to limited Mosaic crews and one industrial user with pre-existing access. …“We understand people are frustrated seeing what appears to be a drivable road,” said D’Arcy Henderson, Senior Vice President, Timberlands and Chief Operating Officer. “But we’ve identified dangerous trees and boulders that could fall at any time. Making the Brenner corridor safe for public use would require the same weeks of intensive work currently underway on Bamfield Main. We cannot split our resources and double the timeline.”

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BC Timber Sales braces for ‘big problems’ selling wood

By Greg Nesteroff
My Kootenay Now
October 8, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

CASTLEGAR, BC — A BC Timber Sales manager for the Kootenay-Boundary admits they may have a hard time selling wood in the coming months as local mills cope with additional U.S. tariffs. George Edney told Castlegar city council this week that his organization, which manages and auctions 20% of the timber on Crown land, will have sales opening next week in the Boundary. …Interfor has curtailed its Grand Forks operations indefinitely due to “persistently weak market conditions.” …Edney said if the wood they offer in the Boundary doesn’t sell at the upset price, they can drop the price and try again, or they can withdraw it altogether, although typically they want the wood in the market. …Edney said they sold 581,000 cubic meters that BC Timber Sales in the Kootenays in 2024-25. Their target volume for 2025-26 is 715,000 cubic metres.

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‘Happy place’: Revelstoke woman gifts ‘serene’ urban forest back to community

By Evert Lindquist
The Revelstoke Review
October 8, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

©Facebook

Walking through a slice of the CP Hill forest one April morning to the gentle rush of streams, Virginia Thompson described the noise as “the million-dollar sound.” Serenity Park, a one-hectare swath of cedar hemlock stands nestled at 711 and 789 Cedar St., has earned distinction this year as something new for Revelstoke: an urban forest. “I wanted to protect this land since I first walked it in 2005,” Thompson said of Serenity Park, which she endowed to the City of Revelstoke earlier in 2025 and will see celebrated later this fall with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony. Thompson, formerly a mental-health counsellor who spent her two decades in Revelstoke as an environmentalist, originally acquired the land ahead of her arrival to town 20 years ago…

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Forestry industry grandstanding

Letter by June MacNab
Campbell River Mirror
October 8, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Regarding the mayor’s grandstanding on the forest industry: Just a conservative bunch trying to make people believe it is the present NDP government that is causing the decline! Look up MLA Mike Morris of the former Liberal government from Prince George/McKenzie and see where he puts the blame! Along with others. The forest companies have cut all the wood in the nearby areas of the mills, and now it is too expensive to go so far to get the wood. They are also growing wood in Georgia, etc., where it is cheap to do so. (No unions there!). Also, the U.S.has had tariffs on our lumber for some time now, never mind the new ones. Now, we are pushing to cut all the old growth, too, and the government is dragging its heels on fully implementing the program to control that.

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BC Council of Forest Industries announces the 2025 Forestry Scholarship recipients

BC Council of Forest Industries
October 7, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Vancouver, B.C. – The BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI) is proud to announce the recipients of its 2025 Forestry Scholarships. Since 2007, COFI has supported students pursuing professional, technical, and trades careers in the forest sector through its annual scholarship program. Each recipient will receive $2,000 to support their post-secondary studies at institutions across British Columbia. “These students represent the next generation of forestry professionals. They are helping shape an industry that’s more innovative, sustainable, and diverse than ever before,” said Kim Haakstad, President & CEO of COFI. …“COFI’s Forestry Scholarships reflect the commitment of our members to inspiring and empowering the next generation of leaders across the province,” said Jim Costley, Manager of Forest Education at COFI. “Whether these students become forest professionals, engineers, or data analysts, their skills and passion will help shape BC’s forest sector and the communities it supports.” 

Related coverage in My Bulkley Lakes Now: Burns Lake student receives a $2,000 forestry scholarship

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Coastal Currents – Forestry Fibre Flow Forum

By Value-Added Accelerators
BC First Nations Forestry Council
October 8, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

October 17, 2025 | River Rock Casino Resort, Richmond | Join us at the Coastal Currents – Forestry Fibre Flow Forum to connect with local primary sawmillers and value-added manufacturers, dive into fibre flow realities, explore regional challenges, and discover new pathways to collaboration and partnership. Together, we will:

  • Get to know local sawmillers and manufacturers for future partnerships.
  • Understand fibre flow, constraints, and access opportunities.
  • Investigate regional challenges and strategies to support value-added manufacturers.
  • Promote First Nations involvement in the value-added space.
  • Explore fibre flow opportunities for Nations entering manufacturing or supply agreements.

An outcome of the Value-added Accelerators, this Forum focuses on advancing value-added manufacturing on British Columbia’s Coast. The Accelerators, launched in 2023, bring together the BC First Nations Forestry Council, BC Value-added Wood Coalition, BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI), and the Ministry of Forests, including BC Timber Sales.

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B.C. must spend more to prevent rising wildfire costs, watershed damage, find reports

By Stefan Labbé
Business in Vancouver
October 7, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Decades of industrial logging and fire suppression are pushing British Columbia’s forests past a tipping point, increasing the risk of catastrophic wildfires and undermining the recovery of wild salmon, a new report has found. Released Tuesday by the Raincoast Conservation Foundation, the research assessed almost 90 individual studies, reports and government documents, concluding that the current crisis of more frequent and severe wildfires is due to the cumulative effects of a century of fire suppression, changes in forest structure from clear-cut logging, and a warming, drying climate. …The Raincoast report comes less than a week after Robert Gray and Robin Gregory published a paper in the journal Science that argued spending billions of dollars to fight catastrophic wildfires in British Columbia is an ineffective strategy, with long-term spending likely to balloon out of control unless measures to prevent them aren’t put in place. 

Press Release by the Raincoast Conservation Foundation: Increases in high-severity wildfire have implications for water and fish: report

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Wildfire experts converge at Thompson Rivers University for national conference

Castanet
October 6, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Thompson Rivers University (TRU) will soon host the Wildfire Resilience Consortium of Canada’s (WRCC) first Building Foundational Knowledge gathering. Running Oct. 7 to 9, the program is packed with lightning talks, workshops and networking designed to deepen knowledge and build connections. Recipients of Natural Resources Canada’s Build and Mobilize Foundational Wildland Fire Knowledge program will headline the sessions. The federal initiative recently provided $45.7 million to 30 projects across Canada, supporting research to strengthen risk assessments and mitigation and helping Indigenous communities lead on fire stewardship. “The Building Foundational Knowledge gathering is intentionally designed to prioritize interaction and co‑creation,” says Garnet Mierau, executive director of the WRCC. “We’ve structured the program around speed sessions that spark discussion and facilitated workshops where everyone has a voice. Our goal is for people to leave not only informed but connected and energized to continue collaborating on wildfire resilience.”

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Logging, fire mitigation underway on private forest above Nelson’s Rail Trail

By Bill Metcalfe
The Nelson Star
October 7, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Anderson Creek Timber is currently hauling logs from its property located just south of Nelson above the Rail Trail at Mountain Station. The work will continue for another three-to-four weeks, said Doug Thorburn, a forester with Monticola Forest Ltd. that manages Anderson Creek’s forest properties. … The 600-hectare Anderson Creek Timber property is private land and is therefore governed by B.C.’s Private Managed Forest Land Act, which provides much less regulation than the Forest Act in areas such as biodiversity, watershed protection, wildlife protection and harvest guidelines. …Anderson Creek Timber and Kalesnikoff, which has a public Crown land tenure over much of the Anderson Creek watershed, are working on a watershed assessment for the area… The reason the company has not done public information sessions about its logging plans … is that on privately owned land, compared with public land, there is less obligation to do so.

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Former premier, family recognized by Woodlot Association of Prince Edward Island

By Jenna Banfield
CBC News
October 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada East

The Woodlot Owners Association of P.E.I. has announced that former premier Pat Binns and his wife, Carol Binns, are the association’s woodlot owners of the year. The pair were described in a release from the association as “an incredible example of stewardship in action” and applauds their efforts to create biodiverse forests. The former premier owns various parts of woodland in Murray River. He, along with a few others created an organization called the Sustainable Forest Alliance, which encourages woodlot owners to grow their woodlots, and helps create plans to guide owners in the future. …The Woodlot Owners Association of P.E.I. encourages proper forest management, sustainable forestry and moving forward in the direction of developing woodlands.

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Community members want land protected amid concerns over clearcutting

By Michael Gorman
CBC News
October 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

NOVA SCOTIA — Mike Lancaster, executive director of the St. Margarets Bay Stewardship Association, has been working to get provincial protection for the proposed Ingram River wilderness area, about 11,000 hectares of Crown land that once belonged to Bowater. Lancaster says part of the proposed area is seeing applications for high-production forestry activity, such as clearcutting. …Lancaster said the proposed wilderness area would include “one of the most, if not the most, ecologically valuable parts of Nova Scotia.” …A spokesperson for the Natural Resources Department said about 4,000 hectares of land in the Ingram River area has been protected as part of the Island Lake Wilderness Area, where no forestry activity is permitted. …“Harvests in this area have gone through the proper reviews and any areas with old-growth forest or species at risk were removed from the harvest plans before we approved them,” Adele Poirier said.

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Wildfire investigation answers aren’t coming fast enough, opposition MLAs say

By Savannah Awde
CBC News
October 8, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada East

The New Brunswick government says it’s now planning for the next wildfire season, but some opposition MLAs are questioning why more information hasn’t been shared about the cause of this year’s fires. Appearing at a legislative committee on Wednesday, the deputy minister of the Department of Natural Resources, Cade Libby, said the department is still investigating what caused one such major blaze, outside Moncton, that put about 900 structures and 1,500 people at risk. Speaking with reporters at the legislature, Progressive Conservative MLA Kris Austin questioned why the public hasn’t gotten answers about what happened. …The Department of Natural Resources referred follow-up questions about the investigation to the Department of Justice and Public Safety, which did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. Roger Collett, the province’s wildfire co-ordinator, has said another large fire outside Miramichi, known as the Oldfield Road fire, was likely human-caused.

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Rooted in Strength: Forestry Technician program in Pembroke enters 58th year

By Jodi Bucholtz
The Pembroke Observer
October 8, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada East

Since 1967, Algonquin College Pembroke Campus’s Forestry Technician program has stood as a pillar of applied education in the natural resources sector. Over nearly six decades, it has shaped countless graduates who walk into the woods, the mills, conservation agencies, and government environmental departments at all levels. In doing so, the program has strengthened our region and the broader stewardship of Canada’s forests. This fall, as students return to campus, the program is thriving, evolving, and more relevant than ever. …What makes the program robust today is its adaptability. The curriculum integrates both traditional forestry foundations and modern tools such as GIS mapping, remote sensing, and forest health assessment. Our proximity to Algonquin Park and partnerships with organizations such as the Petawawa Research Forest and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories ensure that students encounter diverse and real-world conditions. 

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Lakehead University celebrating 77 years in forestry, with one more tree

By Nicky Shaw
The Thunder Bay News Watch
October 6, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada East

THUNDER BAY — A decades-long legacy in forestry was celebrated over the weekend with the planting of a commemorative tree. The ceremony was part of Lakehead University’s 60th anniversary celebrations, but the forestry and mining program actually predates the founding of the university by 17 years. The event kicked-off the Canadian Institute of Forestry’s annual conference, which is being held in Thunder Bay this week. The newly planted red pine now grows in the university’s Agora Circle, where a number of dignitaries spoke about the importance of forestry to the region at Saturday’s event. …Brigitte Leblon, dean of Natural Resources Management, explained that the forestry program was one of the founding programs in the university. The first forestry diplomas in Forest and Mining Technology were offered in 1948, two years after the founding of the Lakehead Technical Institute, and the program evolved into a Bachelor of Science in Forestry program in 1965

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Drax maps carbon stocks of North American forests used for UK biomass power

Drax Group Inc.
October 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, International

Drax has launched a partnership with NGIS, a geospatial technology company, to model and monitor carbon stocks in US and Canadian forests that supply biomass pellets to the UK’s largest renewable power station, which generated over 5% of the country’s electricity using North American biomass in 2024, according to Drax. The collaboration supports Drax’s target to provide verified carbon stock data for all major sourcing regions by the end of 2026. Through NGIS’s satellite-based geospatial tools, the project will track forest regrowth, tree cover, and other indicators of forest health using Earth Observation data enhanced by Google AI and machine-learning tools. A digital platform will present Drax with historical and current imagery of sourcing sites, enabling visual verification of harvesting and reforestation cycles. …The monitoring initiative aligns with Drax’s broader Sustainability Framework, which includes commitments to prevent deforestation, degradation, and conversion in biomass sourcing. 

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National Loggers Day: Honoring the Backbone of the Wood Supply Chain

By Jeff Jenkins
The Forest Resources Association
October 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

As we prepare to celebrate National Loggers Day on October 12, it’s a perfect time to recognize and thank the hardworking men and women who harvest and deliver the timber that keeps our forests, communities, and economy moving. Logging is one of the nation’s oldest industries, but today’s loggers are far more than tree cutters. They are highly trained professionals who operate sophisticated, high-tech equipment, follow strict safety standards, work closely with landowners to ensure that the timber harvest meets their expectations, and promote forest regeneration for future generations. …Today’s logging blends time-honored skills with modern techniques, focusing on responsible forest management and sustainability. …National Loggers Day is a time not only to celebrate the work they do, but also to honor those who have been injured or lost their lives in the woods. …logging touches our daily lives in ways many of us don’t realize.

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US groups urge Brussels not to bow to Washington on deforestation law

By Sofia Sanchez Manzanaro
EURACTIV
October 8, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, International

US civil society groups are urging the European Commission to resist Washington’s pressure to delay the EU’s deforestation regulation (EUDR) or tweak the rules to grant the country preferential treatment, according to a letter seen by Euractiv. The missive, sent this morning to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the Commissioners responsible for green rules, the economy and trade, warns against any backtracking. “We are particularly concerned by the Commission’s apparent willingness to offer the U.S. special treatment under the EUDR as part of ongoing EU-U.S. trade negotiations,” the letter reads. The organisations refer to the joint statement issued by Brussels and Washington in September, which labels the US as posing “negligible risk to global deforestation.” Rick Jacobsen, senior manager for commodities policy at the US NGO Environmental Investigation Agency, told Euractiv that US interests have “ramped up the pressure campaign” to weaken the law before it even comes into force.

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Forest Stewardship Council US Announces Revised Forest Stewardship Standard Approved

By Forest Stewardship Council – US
EIN Presswire
October 7, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

ATLANTA — Forest Stewardship Council US announced the approval of the revised Forest Stewardship Standard 2.0. “The revision aligns the U.S. standard with FSC International’s updated Principles & Criteria (V5) and International Generic Indicators (IGIs), while also addressing key stakeholder priorities,” says Amy Clark Eagle, FSC US Director of Science and Certification. Key updates under the new FSC US Forest Stewardship Standard include: At least 10% of every FSC-certified forest will need to be in a conservation area – this means more than 3.61 million acres being managed with a focus on conserving environmental or cultural values. …January 1, 2026 will be the official publication date for Version 2.0 of the FSC US Forest Stewardship Standard and the revised standard will become effective April 2, 2026. This will be followed by an 18-month transition period in which both the current (Version 1.1) and revised standards (Version 2.0) will be valid.

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Proclamation: Fire Prevention Week, 2025

The White House
October 7, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

During Fire Prevention Week, we call on every household and community to prioritize fire prevention by taking steps that reduce risks and strengthen safety.  Americans honor the steadfast courage and dedication of firefighters and first responders across our Nation who protect our lives, property, and natural resources from the devastation of fire. …In recent years, our Nation has seen the staggering costs of poor fire prevention and disaster preparedness.  When wildfires erupted in California earlier this year, sparked by arson and exacerbated by the Green New Scam agenda and disastrous forest management, State and local leaders were left totally unprepared to safeguard our fellow citizens. …This week, we offer our sincere thanks to all the dedicated firefighters and first responders who do not flinch in times of crisis.  …That is why, earlier this year, I was proud to sign a bill into law for permanent pay increases for Federal wildland firefighters.  

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Logging in national forests in Oregon continues, despite government shutdown

By April Ehrlich
Oregon Public Broadcasting
October 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Trees in three national forests in Oregon will be auctioned off for logging by the end of the month, even though the federal workers preparing these timber sales are not getting paid and many of their colleagues in the U.S. Forest Service are furloughed. …But the Trump administration has determined that staff who organize and process timber sales — auctioning the right to log trees in national forests to the highest bidders — are essential workers, according to a Forest Service memo sent Wednesday. …Its next timber sales in Oregon include sections of the Deschutes, Wallowa-Whitman and Umatilla national forests. Those three sales are expected to produce 123,047 tons of timber — enough to build more than 11,000 single-family homes. …“If work proceeds during a shutdown without the usual oversight or opportunities for collaboration, that is concerning,” said Alyssa Cudmore, forestland program manager with Wallowa Resources, which helps organize forest collaborations between multiple stakeholders.

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Why less land has burned in much of the West this year

By Ruby Mellen & Ian Livingston
The Washington Post
October 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Ahead of this year’s typical fire season, Western states braced for the worst. …But much of the West has not burned as expected. …Devastating wildfires tore through Los Angeles to start the year, but since then, despite fast-moving flames in the Plains in the spring, and a handful of notable blazes in the Western states this summer and fall, this year has seen about half the land burned compared with last year, particularly during the typical peak of fire season. …Although in many ways a sigh of relief, the smaller amount of acreage burned tells only part of the story, state officials and experts said. Parts of the West experienced a high number of fires this year, which put a strain on fire resources even if they didn’t burn more land.

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Washington public lands chief seeks new revenue as timber policy faces scrutiny

By Paul Taylor
The Washington State Standard
October 12, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Dave Upthegrove

Washington Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove defended his decision to pause some timber sales and said he will seek 2026 legislation to diversify revenue from state trust lands, arguing the state can “do more for climate and habitat while providing stability.” In an interview on TVW’s “Inside Olympia,” Upthegrove told host Austin Jenkins that his halt on harvesting in older, “structurally complex forests” — those that have some but not all the characteristics of “old-growth”— began as a six-month hold for restoration and protection. It was intended to refresh inventory data and gather input from tribes, industry, school districts and counties. …He disputed claims of widespread economic harm, noting 70% of Washington’s wood supply comes from private lands and more than 90% of Department of Natural Resources timberlands are unaffected. He said ecological thinning, acquiring replacement timberlands and entering carbon-credit and other environmental markets could support rural economies.

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Forest Service falls behind on wildfire prevention

Center for Western Priorities
October 6, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Despite the Trump administration’s pledge to aggressively clear overgrowth from national forests, the U.S. Forest Service is falling significantly short on wildfire mitigation work. By mid-September, the agency had only treated about 2.2 million acres through thinning and prescribed burns. That’s far short of the over 4 million acres treated during the last year of the Biden administration, and it’s also behind the agency’s annual average over the past decade. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz blamed “operational challenges” and said agency resources were diverted to help battle blazes in Canada. However, Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon is blaming the slowdown in fuel treatments on the Trump administration firing thousands of Forest Service employees earlier this year. …the government shutdown has stopped wildfire prevention efforts across the country’s entire 193 million acres of national forest land [at] the ideal time for the agency to conduct safe prescribed burns across the West.

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In the wake of Savannah’s International Paper mill closing, South Carolina landowners’ anxieties are rising

By Mitchell Black
The Post and Courier
October 12, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

GARNETT, South Carolina — Clearing mature, diseased and inferior trees creates more space, allowing vegetation to proliferate, heat from fires to escape through the canopy and the next bounty of pines to emerge from the earth. The longer these pines remain on the stump, the greater the risk of disease and infestation. Brian “Woody” Rogers, with Milliken Advisors, called the area a “biological desert.” Finding a buyer for these walls of wood has become increasingly challenging for South Carolina landowners as paper and saw mills that previously purchased the timber have closed in droves. And with the announcement that International Paper’s Savannah mill would close by the end of this past September, the micro-economy centered around the processing plant has suffered another blow. …“There is no plan because there’s no alternative,” said Trip Chavis, CEO of Milliken. “There’s nothing to fill that void.” [to access the full story a subscription is required]

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World falling far behind deforestation goals with farms and fires driving loss, report says

By Alexander Villegas
Reuters
October 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

SANTIAGO, Chile – The world is falling far behind a global goal to reverse deforestation by 2030, with losses being largely driven by agricultural expansion and forest fires, according to the 2025 Forest Declaration Assessment. The report said the world permanently lost 8.1 million hectares (20 million acres) of forest, an area about the size of England, in 2024 alone, putting the planet 63% behind the goal set by over 140 countries in the 2021 Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use. …Fires were the leading cause of forest loss, accounting for 6.73 million of those hectares around the world, with the Amazon rainforest hit particularly hard, releasing nearly 800 million metric tons of CO2 from fires in 2024. “Major fire years used to be outliers, but now they’re the norm. And these fires are largely human-made,” said Erin Matson, lead author of the Forest Declaration Assessment. “They’re linked to land clearing, to climate change-induced drought, and to limited law enforcement.”

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European sawn timber industry faces rising costs, uncertainty as EUDR delay looms

By Sanjoy Narayan
RISI Fastmarkets
October 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Europe’s sawn timber industry is grappling with growing strategic uncertainty and rising compliance costs while the EU prepares to delay implementation of its landmark anti-deforestation law for a second time. While the postponement of the regulation to December 2026 may offer temporary relief, it also threatens to erode market incentives for early adopters and undermine confidence in the bloc’s regulatory direction. Producers across the continent have already invested billions of euros to meet the regulation’s demanding traceability requirements—developing digital platforms, upgrading Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, and restructuring supply chains to prove that every cubic meter of wood originates from deforestation-free sources. …In a strongly worded letter to the EC’s Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall, a coalition of civil society organizations, urged the European Commission to uphold the original EUDR timeline and resist calls for further delay. …The proposed deferral still requires formal approval, but few expect resistance in Brussels. 

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Istanbul Forest Innovation Week to bring together foresters from around the world

By Mehmet Can Toptas & Mucahithan Avcioglu
Anadolu Ajansı
October 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Istanbul Forest Innovation Week (IFIW) 2025, which will be held from Oct. 20-25, will bring together forestry experts from around the world, offering a unique opportunity to influence the future of global forestry. The event will be organized by the Turkish Agriculture and Forestry Ministry’s General Directorate of Forestry at the Pullman Istanbul Hotel & Convention Center. It will host panels, side events, exhibitions and field trips aimed at shaping the future of the forestry sector with innovation. Anadolu will serve as the global communication partner of Istanbul Forest Innovation Week 2025. General Director of Forestry Bekir Karacabey said Monday that they have sent invitations to 193 countries for the event so far and that 75 of the countries will participate. “We have also received responses from 30 international organizations. It has been reported that a total of 336 expert scientists, practitioners, firefighting experts and government and ministry officials will participate.

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