In this edition of The Branch News, Project Learning Tree features these headline and more:
- Growing Future-Ready Students—How Environmental Education Advances District Priorities. If you are a school leader or part of a school instructional team, join Project Learning Tree and the Superintendents’ Environmental Education Collaborative (SEEC) for this free webinar that will explore how environmental education can be leveraged as a unifying strategy to help districts while achieving strategic goals, while saving time and resources.
- PLT is Planting the Seeds of Urban Forestry in Climate Change Education. We teamed up with the Plants and Climate Change Education peer learning group and the American Public Gardens Association’s Education Community to share how urban forests make our cities livable and how we can help cities adapt to climate risks.
- Join PLT’s 50 Year Celebration! We’re so proud to celebrate 50 years of providing educators with hands-on lessons that teach young people about the natural world!
Canada is blessed with some of the largest forests in the world. Unfortunately, it is being increasingly affected by insects, disease, drought, and the effects of a warming climate. These damaged forests now contain significant fuel loads that contribute to large, more intense wildfires, which can spread into adjacent healthy and mixed forests, further degrading one of Canada’s greatest natural assets. …An overlooked consequence is the loss of the economic value derived from the carbon Canada’s forests store and remove from the atmosphere – a value we rarely account for. …Canada could become one of the world’s largest forest carbon offset opportunities by establishing a value across the country for forest carbon credits, helping finance restoration while expanding Canada’s forests for future generations. This is not rocket science, it is forest science. …Rather than watching our forests decline rapidly, we should reverse course and invest in growing them. [to access the full story a Globe and Mail subscription is required]
Canada has long been recognized as a global leader in advancing reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, particularly since Aboriginal rights and title were constitutionally entrenched in 1982. While significant progress has been made, reconciliation remains an ongoing process, with courts continuing to shape how these rights are defined, respected, and implemented. A pivotal moment came with the Tsilhqot’in Nation v British Columbia decision, in which the Supreme Court of Canada granted Aboriginal title to a large area of land in British Columbia. This ruling established key legal tests for proving Aboriginal title and outlined how governments may justify infringements. Importantly, the decision affirmed that such lands are no longer Crown lands and are subject to Indigenous rights of “exclusive use and occupation.” More recently, courts in British Columbia, Ontario, and New Brunswick have begun addressing how Aboriginal title may intersect with privately owned land. These cases introduce a complex legal tension: both Aboriginal title and fee simple ownership confer rights of exclusive use and occupation. The question of how these rights can coexist on the same parcel of land remains unresolved and is now central to ongoing legal debates.
As more than 900 wildfires burn across Canada, prompting evacuation orders and pushing Ontario into its worst wildfire season on record, officials are renewing calls for the country to develop a national wildfire strategy through the creation of a federal agency. Canada is the only G7 country that does not have a national emergency agency that is mandated to respond to wildfires. After a disastrous July for wildfires that razed First Nations communities in northeasern Ontario and sent poisonous smoke southward through the US, provincial premier Doug Ford called for a countrywide response to the wildfire threat. “We need a large national fire strategy. We seem to be going through this every single year,” Ford told reporters. … A national wildfire strategy through the creation of a federal emergency agency would help Canada be more prepared, said Mike Flannigan, a professor of wildland fire at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia.
While US President Trump threatens tariffs over wildfire smoke drifting south, Canadian fire experts say large forest fires are inevitable. Over the past week, Trump has criticized Canadian fire management and said the country is “poisoning” U.S. air. …But experts say Canada’s worsening fire seasons reflect a harder reality: not every blaze, or the smoke that comes from it, can be stopped. “Saying that you would need to extinguish very huge fires like this is similar to trying to stop a hurricane,” said Martin Girardin, a forest ecology researcher with NRCan. …As of Monday, more than 900 fires were burning across Canada and more than 3.7 million hectares had burned in 2026, according to the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System dashboard. Girardin said climate change is helping drive worse fire seasons by bringing warmer temperatures and drier conditions, while many forests also have a buildup of fuel, including mature trees and other biomass.
For the third time in the past four years, Americans are choking on smoke from Canada’s burning forests. Last week, roughly 900 wildfires turned the skies over Minneapolis, Chicago and New York into an apocalyptic haze. …Why does this keep happening? …Canada isn’t the only one with a wildfire problem. America’s forests are burning too. Fires are raging in northern Minnesota and across much of the western United States. …The media and politicians are quick to blame climate change, but the reality is that forest management works. Fuel treatments such as thinning, brush clearance and prescribed burning remove small trees, brush and dead material that allow flames to climb into the canopy and explode into a dangerous crown fire. …Canada does strikingly little of this work. The problem is that Canada has regulated the cure nearly out of existence. …American forest management is snarled by many of the same problems. 
ALBERTA — A multi-year investigation into an unapproved bridge built over the Highwood River by a logging company in critical habitat for a threatened fish species was halted by a federal ministry due to a lack of resources. An internal 2025 document… states Fisheries and Oceans Canada had multiple ongoing investigations into critical habitat being destroyed, but the regulator lacked resources to work on them all. …Highwood River in Kananaskis Country grabbed the regulator’s attention after it learned Spray Lake Sawmills built a bridge over it without federal approval in 2023. …The two-year investigation was halted despite federal staff finding “destruction of critical habitat for bull trout” had happened, during an on-site visit in 2023. Instead, the federal ministry found West Fraser’s work (the company that took over the project from Spray Lake Sawmills) had been “fulfilled to the satisfaction of the (DFO)” after it removed the unapproved bridges and created a remediation plan.
The Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) has expanded eligibility under its Fibre Utilization Funding Program to include Timber Sale Licences. Eligible applicants can now apply for funding to recover biomass from active and approved Timber Sale Licences (TSLs) issued prior to July 31, 2026. Organizations that are new to the program, or that do not currently have FESBC Fibre Utilization funding, are encouraged to review the 2026-27 Fibre Utilization Funding Program Guide and submit an application. Current Fibre Utilization funding recipients may also be able to amend their existing projects to include eligible Timber Sales Licences.
The BC government’s decision to grant a logging company permits to install three gates blocking access to the Walbran Valley’s old-growth forests was almost certain to draw criticism from environmental organizations. …“Blocking access to these places damages the relationship people have to the landscape… which only benefits logging companies,” said Torrance Coste of the Wilderness Committee. …But the gates are much more than just a physical barrier to would-be travellers. They also highlight a divide among environmental organizations and First Nations and the BC government over the future of old-growth forests. …Tsawak-qin is invested in logging Vancouver Island’s increasingly rare old-growth forests, including forests adjacent to and potentially inside the unprotected portion of the Walbran. …Jeff Jones, Elected Chief of the Pacheedaht First Nation, said… “we have two community forest partnerships. We have a sawmill that we benefit from… that creates employment. And we also get the revenues from the partnerships.”
Retreat to the woods and waves of Vancouver Island this fall for the 29th Annual Woodlots BC Conference and AGM in Parksville from October 1-3. This year’s event will be held at the tranquil Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort, located on the traditional lands of the Qualicum and Snaw-Naw-As First Nations. Explore the theme “Woods & Waves: Navigating the Narrative” through coastal field tours followed by a full day of speakers and sessions. This is a fantastic opportunity to combine professional development with a relaxing resort experience. Enjoy the 22-acre forested oceanfront resort featuring 3 kms of sandy beach, the Grotto Spa, indoor pool and on-site restaurant. This year’s theme is Woods & Waves: Navigating the Narrative. Woodlots in BC face unique, shifting challenges—from intense weather events to changing regulations. This theme uses “navigation” as a metaphor, positioning open communication and collective wisdom as the ultimate compass for woodlot managers. Register by the Early Bird deadline on August 31, 2026, for a chance to win your Early Bird registration back. 
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As wildfires burn across Canada and smoke again reaches communities far from the fire line, a harder question is emerging behind the daily evacuation updates and air quality warnings: Is British Columbia doing enough to manage its forests before the next crisis? The question has taken on added political weight as criticism of Canadian wildfire smoke has surfaced south of the border and as politicians debate whether severe fire seasons are primarily a climate problem, a forest management problem or both. Murray Wilson says that framing misses the point if it becomes an excuse for inaction. Wilson, a former forester, discussed wildfire risk, smoke, forest management and the shrinking capacity of the forest sector in an interview with 
In the Okanagan, we have sadly become all too familiar with the smoke and devastation caused by wildfires. Most recently, several wildfires have impacted our region, most notably the Bradley Creek fire, which has threatened parts of the Okanagan Indian Band lands and resulted in the loss of more than 200 homes. It should also be noted that some residents reportedly evacuated before an official evacuation order was in effect, a reminder of how quickly conditions can change when wind and weather shift unexpectedly. …Earlier this year, I discussed many of these issues with retired forester Murray Wilson on my Finding Solutions podcast. Drawing on decades of experience, Mr. Wilson shared his perspective on forest management and how we can better understand and mitigate wildfire risk. …Forest management is undoubtedly important. However, it is also reasonable to expect that more progress can be made in reducing the number of human-caused fires.
Two protesters from the Walbran Valley blockade were sentenced Tuesday, after pleading guilty to breaching an injunction order in November 2025. The order barred protesters from blocking access to the Tsawak-qin Forestry logging site. Twelve protesters were arrested in total. Kenni Apt was sentenced to 12 months’ probation, with 75 hours of community service or a fine of $2,250. They were arrested after attaching themselves to a large wooden cougar statue within the injunction area, intending to block logging activity. Apt says they feel good about their sentence, but they’re sad that they won’t be able to visit the valley any time soon. …Zoey Barak was sentenced to seven days’ jail time. She was arrested after being found in an elevated sling between two trees within the injunction area. The blockade in Walbran Valley was linked to the same organizers behind the Fairy Creek anti-logging blockade on southwest Vancouver Island, which saw thousands arrested in 2021. 
Prolonged drought conditions are forcing British Columbia’s fire tacticians to rethink how they battle blazes in the province’s dry and hot Interior. As huge, destructive blazes spread across the southern Interior, many are burning across land that has already experienced fire over the last decade. In years past, the BC Wildfire Service would expect previous burn scars to slow, or even stop, the progress of a new fire. But this fire season, a prolonged drought has upended that assumption. Firefighters’ experiences could have implications for what British Columbians can expect from fire seasons for years to come. …A burn scar “used to be something we could use as a control line,” Chapman said. Current conditions, though, make those scars untrustworthy. “The fire behaviour can be almost as extreme in some of those old burns, depending on their age and how severe the burn was.”
Timberwolf Wilderness Society is asking for a judicial review in federal court after a permit was provided for a logging operation in Kananaskis Country in an area with threatened bull trout. Timberwolf launched legal action after 
Critical ecosystems throughout B.C. will be safer and better protected, thanks to provincial funding for a new partnership led by the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation (HCTF). B.C. is providing $1 million to HCTF to identify and assess water-control infrastructure on conservation lands and other areas that support ecological values throughout the province, helping guide investments that improve habitat, reduce risks and support local communities. …As part of the work, a shared database will be created to identify infrastructure such as small dams, dikes and water-control structures. It will track infrastructure condition and safety risks, while taking into account ecological, cultural and community needs associated with each site. …The initiative is expected to provide, for the first time, a co-ordinated inventory and assessment of water-control structures allowing government and conservation partners to better understand infrastructure needs and prioritize future upgrades. 
PORT RENFREW, British Columbia — The five-car caravan crept down a gravel logging road as the day’s last beams of golden light filtered through the trees. About 20 forest defenders were making a stand in southwest Vancouver Island, at a spot where a logging company was expected to cut 
In 2004, Dr. Geoff Scudder of UBC completed one of B.C.’s most important biodiversity analyses. By mapping species rarity and richness, he identified where the province’s most threatened species occur and where biodiversity is most concentrated. These biodiversity hotspots are the places where conservation matters most. These hotspots occur mostly in the South Okanagan, the Lower Mainland, and Southeastern Vancouver Island along with the Gulf Islands. Despite their global significance, these hotspots remain largely outside B.C.’s protected area network. As Canada advances its 30×30 plan to protect 30% of land and ocean by 2030, the gap between what is protected and what needs protection is poised to widen. Canada has committed to 10 new national parks, and B.C. has proposed three new conservation areas. Yet none of these proposals capture Scudder’s hotspots. Once again, B.C. is protecting more of what is already safe and less of what is truly at risk.
Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests, has issued the following statement in response to the arrival of wildfire personnel from Mexico: Supporting our neighbours and communities, showing hospitality to our partners and taking care of each other. These are the values that make me proud to be a British Columbian. In our time of need, I am honoured to welcome more than 100 wildfire personnel from Mexico on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, with more than 200 arriving later in the week. They’ve travelled from their homes to help us protect ours amidst a challenging wildfire season. As British Columbians, let’s welcome them warmly as they prepare to work alongside our BC Wildfire Service crews. Wildfire response is built on teamwork. Whether support comes from within B.C., across Canada or around the world, every person who joins the effort strengthens our response capacity and helps ensure resources are available when and where they are needed most.
After a visit to Stanley Park, Nina Shoroplova, a Vancouver naturalist, went on to research and write a book about the park and its trees. Stanley Park holds a fascination for many. Sometimes called the crown jewel of the city, the park contains about 600,000 trees. But the urban forest is changing in ways that challenge both the health of the ecosystem and ideas about the park itself. An outbreak of western hemlock looper killed about 30 per cent of the large trees in Stanley Park as of April 2023… Recent droughts have made the damage more severe, increasing the wildfire risk in the park… Amid some opposition, park board crews have cut down about 14,000 trees since fall 2023. …The idea that Stanley Park is an area of untamed wilderness has always held appeal. But its history and present reality are much more complex, said Sean Kheraj, author of Inventing Stanley Park: An Environmental History. …The reality is that Stanley Park’s forest has long been influenced by people. [A Vancouver Sun subscription is required for full access]
PORT ALBERNI, BC — It’s been almost a year since Mount Underwood erupted south of Port Alberni, quickly spreading across a bone-dry slope to become the largest wildfire the area has seen in over a century. While this forest fire season has been relatively mild by comparison, some residents are questioning if slash left over from past logging fueled the rapid growth of the blaze in August 2025. …“BC Wildfire Service described that behaviour as ‘explosive’,” stated the alliance. “We are concerned that the fire’s behaviour and size were the direct and foreseeable result of fuel hazard conditions created by rapid logging and establishment of conifer plantations.” …With an investigation still underway, the BC Wildfire Service has not disclosed what caused Mount Underwood. But Mosaic believes that “preliminary information suggests it was caused by human activity.” “There were no active forestry operations in the area at the time the fire started,” stated Mosaic. 
A pest is placing huge swaths of BC’s forests under strain while adding a red tinge to the province’s landscape. Data from the Ministry shows the current outbreak of the western spruce budworm was mapped last year at 1.7 million hectares, more than double the previous two outbreaks which peaked in 1987 and 2008 at around 800,000 hectares. The budworm is native to BC and has been studied for a century due to the visible, and at times, deadly impact it can have on the province’s forests. …The pest takes a year to complete its life cycle. The eggs hatch in about 12 days, resulting in larvae that feed on tree needles, causing them to turn red. “These trees are not dead,” said a statement from the Ministry of Forest. “They may die after successive years of defoliation.” The ministry said younger, understory trees are more susceptible to being killed by the budworm.
In BC, almost 40% of the wildfires that started between 2015 and 2024 were sparked by people — our campfires, our infrastructure, our vehicles. To avoid preventable fires, officials ban campfires, restrict the use of heavy machinery and sometimes prohibit the use of off-road vehicles. But before making those decisions, they need to determine just how bad the fire danger is in the first place. …The billboards, with their green, yellow, orange and red markers that denote different fire danger levels. …Forest fire danger rating research began in Canada in the 1920s with studies in experimental plots to investigate the moisture content and flammability of forest fuels — everything from the fine needles and twigs that litter the forest floor to the deeper organic layers below. Over time, researchers incorporated that work into a series of scientific models now used across Canada and around the world to estimate wildfire danger and fire behaviour.
BC Parks describes it as “a luxuriously forested sanctuary that is without a doubt one of the most remarkable wild places on Vancouver Island.” But right now, they also say it’s “inaccessible by vehicle” and that “the day-use areas, campground, and trails are currently unmaintained.” That’s because it’s blocked by landslides on one side and locked metal gates on the other. …Instead, they directed questions to Tsawak-qin Forestry, the company responsible for both the metal gates and, they say, for clearing the landslides. …In an emailed statement, Tsawak-qin told The Narwhal that they are “working with government and others to open access to the western, public access point of the park,” but didn’t offer a timeline. …Neither BC Parks nor the Ministry of Forests have plans to clear the landslides. The responsibility for clearing that road, they say, lies with the logging companies that use it.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that Canada is failing to properly manage its forests, and that the cost of wildfire smoke drifting south should be added to tariffs on Canadian goods, has prompted renewed questions about whether more could be done to prevent the massive blazes that have blanketed parts of North America with smoke. But wildfire experts say the answer is far more complicated. “The short answer is there’s nothing that Canada can do about these major wildfires that are causing wildfire smoke to travel thousands of kilometres,” said Anabela Bonada, managing director of climate science at the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo. …“The No. 1 thing is all of us reducing our emissions, and that goes for the U.S. as well,” Bonada said. “But we are looking at smoky summers ahead, so we need to do everything possible to protect ourselves and people that live in our home.”
TORONTO — On World Nature Conservation Day, a new report published by Ontario Nature demonstrates how Bill 5’s Species Conservation Act (SCA), which repealed the Endangered Species Act (ESA), creates critical protection gaps for 106 migratory birds, aquatic species and species of Special Concern. The report – Bridging the Gap: Assessing Recent Changes to Species at Risk Protections in Ontario – shows that the ESA provided an effective, though imperfect, framework for species conservation and recovery. The loss of this framework is a symptom of a much broader trend in weakened environmental protections across the province and beyond, where the most vulnerable species and habitats are seen as “red tape”. This pattern exacerbates the ongoing biodiversity crisis, which will ultimately undermine the economic and social resilience of Ontario, in addition to further imperiling our precious natural world.
This fog-shrouded patch of coastal forest in the heart of Yurok Country was tended by the tribe for millennia. But in the Gold Rush era it was taken away and, later, used by the logging industry, reshaping the landscape. Now, as the land heals from the scars of a long-running lumber mill, it has been returned to its original stewards, who will operate it as a public gateway to Redwood National and State Parks about 50 miles south of the Oregon border. Save the Redwoods League in June conveyed the 125-acre property to the Yurok Tribe following a yearslong project to restore the degraded industrial site to a diverse riparian habitat. It opens to the public Saturday as ‘O Rew Redwoods Gateway, which features interpretive exhibits and trails leading to old-growth redwood groves.
The U.S. Forest Service has promised to approve at least 20,000 acres a year worth of forest thinning projects annually to support forest restoration and wildfire protection in the footprint of the Four Forest Restoration Initiative, or 4FRI. The commitment is key to the 4FRI effort to save Northern Arizona’s forests and forested communities, partly because it provides a guarantee of biomass to support loggers and support industries. The 4FRI collaboration on the Tonto, Coconino, Apache-Sitgreaves and Kaibab forests remains the most ambitious forest restoration effort on the continent. However, the fitful approvals of logging and restoration projects has hobbled the timber industry needed to thin millions of overgrown, fire-prone acres. The slow pace of project approvals has limited the growth of the logging industry, especially crucial operations that can make use of the low-value biomass produced by every thinning project.
Trump administration officials and members of Congress walked along the burn scar from Utah’s devastating Cottonwood Fire last week…. If the forest had been thinned, with “a lot fewer trees per acre, and maybe even some controlled burns to take the underbrush out, there’s just not the fuel there when these fires start to make them catastrophic fires,” Rep. Bruce Westerman said. The Arkansas Republican chairs the House Natural Resources Committee. But these traditional fire prevention methods may no longer work with a changing climate that makes hot, dry weather increasingly the norm said Dominik Kulakowski, a professor of geography at Clark University in Massachusetts. “The implication of that,” he said, “is that we’re losing our ability to manage forest fires.” …The Trump administration issued a directive this year calling on federal agencies to aggressively suppress all fires — including the smaller ones that forests evolved with and may keep them healthy.
The Trump administration is drastically changing the way the country protects endangered species, potentially jeopardizing years of policymaking in Oregon. Still, Oregon land regulators are moving ahead with plans for protecting Oregon’s forests that are essential for endangered species, including marbled murrelets and spotted owls. …For more than six years, Oregon land agencies, conservationists and loggers have been crafting plans that will protect Oregon’s most sensitive habitats, while also helping landowners avoid lawsuits when their logging projects harm federally endangered species. …Earlier this month, the Trump administration announced it is removing the definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act, effective in September. …Last year, Gov. Tina Kotek and multiple Oregon state agencies submitted comments opposing the change. …“In Oregon, where approximately 53% of the land is federally managed, habitat protection is essential to ongoing conservation efforts,” Kotek wrote.
MAINE — Researchers walking through the forest during a major spruce budworm outbreak in the 1990s discovered some healthy fir trees unaffected by the deadly pests, and wondered what gave them apparent immunity. They took needles from the healthy trees to study at their University of New Brunswick lab, and found they contained a fungus with a beneficial relationship with the trees. …The discovery attracted the attention of Canadian forestry conglomerate J.D. Irving, the largest owner of forested land in Maine. The partnership, which started in 1999, resulted in a novel way to combat future outbreaks: breeding budworm-resistant trees. Its strategy to use natural fungi — known as endophytes — is at the forefront of science to find more natural solutions. Several universities in the US are researching how endophytes act in other types of trees. …Irving Woodlands is ramping up production of the trees in a newly opened greenhouse in New Brunswick. 
Nine months after its first prescribed burn in 150 years, a 22-acre patch of forest on Wisconsin Point is starting to show the effects. On one side of the road to the beach, the understory, or plants growing from the ground, are tall and dense. It’s not what a healthy red pine forest should look like, said Callie Grones, an outreach coordinator with the Lake Superior National Estuarine Reserve. On the other side at the “burn unit,” the ground is a little clearer, although still very green, the bottoms of the pine trees are charred and wild blueberries are thriving. …“Ojibwe people, when they were living out here, they used fire almost in a routine,” Grones said. The forest’s health was maintained through that fire.” … Stewardship Coordinator Kirsten Rhude said it will take a few years before the full advantages of the burn appear. 
Global wildfires are intensifying, prompting “wildfire diplomacy” where nations share emergency resources like firefighters and aircraft. This cooperation, exemplified by US-Canada efforts and the EU mechanism, builds trust and facilitates immediate response. However, this assistance largely neglects crucial long-term recovery phases, including contamination testing, housing reconstruction, and public health. The article argues that effective wildfire diplomacy must extend beyond emergency aid to encompass prevention, shared resilience, and comprehensive post-fire recovery standards. This includes joint investment in forecasting, cross-border smoke protocols, and integrating Indigenous knowledge, ensuring communities can rebuild safely and sustainably.
SWITZERLAND — Forest trees can help contain heavy metals in polluted soils. But which tree species should be selected for this purpose? A study led by the Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) investigated how seven different Central European tree species respond to metal-contaminated soils. All seven Central European tree species tested showed a similar ability to stabilise heavy metals in contaminated soil. Tree species with low nutrient needs keep excess metals out of their stems and foliage, making the production of uncontaminated timber possible. Selecting suitable tree species could bring abandoned land back into productive use while also safely confining the soil pollutants. …One promising solution is phytostabilisation— using plants to reduce the spread of pollutants into the environment. Trees are particularly well suited because of their long lifespans and extensive root systems.
Inter IKEA Group has intensified oversight of its Romanian timber supply chain, choosing to strengthen supplier verification processes instead of withdrawing from one of its most challenging sourcing markets. The move comes as allegations concerning timber harvested from old-growth forests continue to attract attention. Ulf Johansson, Head of Raw Materials at Inter IKEA Group, said stronger monitoring provides a more effective response than ending procurement from Romania altogether. …According to Johansson, every supplier’s sourcing plan is reviewed annually to verify where timber originates and how it has been obtained. The company requires all wood used in IKEA products to carry certification from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Suppliers must also comply with the company’s mandatory IWAY MUST sourcing standard, which establishes requirements for responsible material procurement. …That position has been challenged by Greenpeace who published a report alleging that suppliers had harvested timber from forests with high biodiversity value.
With France and Spain struggling to contain raging wildfires, and others from Germany to Greece on high alert, Europe is discussing how to stop this happening again next year. …Addressing the root causes of wildfires, such as increasingly frequent heat waves, will require long-term policies. But there are ways to reduce the risk in the short term, said Tammouz Eñaut Helou, secretary-general of the French forest owners’ association UCFF. This includes raising awareness about how to prepare for outbreaks of fire and “maintaining access through forests to allow firefighters to operate more effectively during interventions”. …Environmentalists say it’s the entire structure of our forests that needs to be rethought. “The fires … are spreading through timber plantations. These monocultures are more than twice as likely to burn as natural forests,” the director of UK environmental group Earthsight, Samuel Lawson, said on Sunday. …Helou, representing the planters of such forests, disagrees.