Canada’s forests are managed responsibly, as expected by Canadians coast to coast to coast. Our forests support jobs and communities, are home to wildlife and biodiversity and must remain healthy for future generations. Forest management certification plays an important role in meeting those expectations by ensuring harvesting is carried out in a manner that respects and maintains the full range of environmental, social, and economic values across forest landscapes, while providing independent verification that forestry practices meet high standards. Forest management certification is a voluntary, third-party system …The three independent certification programs used in Canada – the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) Canada and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) – are applied voluntarily by different companies and groups, and information is often scattered across multiple sources. To make it more transparent and accessible, FPAC has brought this information together in one place through its forest certification webpage.
Two cutblocks proposed for Revelstoke’s Mount MacPherson are prompting Wildsight Revelstoke to engage B.C.’s lumber licensee about minimizing logging in that forest. Following a commenting period last year, BC Timber Sales (BCTS) is putting the two cutblocks, No. 52065 and No. 52066, up for sale… Combined, they cover 19.4 hectares of old- and second-growth forest. BCTS is currently welcoming applications for timber sales licences to harvest forest in these lots, as well as applications for road permits… Wildsight Revelstoke will meet a local BCTS representative this month to discuss the two proposed cutblocks, part of a larger conversation about several logging operations pitched by industry for north of town. …Ahead of its meeting with BCTS, Wildsight has been visiting Cutblocks 52065 and 52066 to appraise the towering cedar-hemlock trees and moisture-rich riparian habitats there. Black Press Media visited one of them with Wildsight Revelstoke board members Arnoul Mateo and Fabien Stocco.
A BC government decision to source a forest fertilizer outside the US for “political reasons” ended in disaster in an incident that killed 13 cattle and triggered a major environmental penalty. Every year, BC’s Forest Investment Program tenders contracts to fertilize thousands of hectares of forest across the province in projects meant to boost tree growth for harvesting and to capture carbon. One of the sub-contracts went to Western Aerial Applications in late September 2025. Its job was to use helicopters to scatter a newly sourced blend of fertilizer onto forests near Quesnel, BC. That plan fell apart when employees overfilled bags used to load helicopters with fertilizer. In at least six locations off Highway 26, the blue pellets spilled to the ground in unintended concentrations. …Tim Singer, a range officer with the Ministry of Forests, would later document 13 dead cows, including several found next to spilled fertilizer. 
VICTORIA, BC — The Honourable Nathalie Provost, Secretary of State (Nature), highlighted 16 projects across BC. These projects represent a $272 million investment to plant over 95 million trees, helping to protect nature and biodiversity in Canada by restoring critical habitats for species at risk and wildfire-affected areas, as well as supporting Indigenous-led reforestation efforts through tree planting. … Canada’s Strategy to Protect Nature is based on three pillars for action to harmonize nature protection and economic growth: Protecting Nature in Canada, Building Canada Well, and Valuing Nature and Mobilizing Capital. Key components of the strategy include increasing our protected areas network on land and water. Elements to do this will include expanding our parks network and restoring critical habitats for species at risk, as well as recognizing and expanding on working landscapes or other effective conservation measures.
…In 2009, the Lil’wat and Squamish nations entered into a formal 25-year agreement with the Resort Municipality of Whistler to create the Cheakamus Community Forest—a more than 33,000-hectare patchwork of forested Crown land… Today, the
Delivered in partnership with COFI member companies, Indigenous organizations, school districts, training providers, and community partners, these initiatives are designed to increase awareness of the many career opportunities available in today’s forest sector. Through guided mill tours, classroom presentations, field tours, and career fairs, participants will gain direct exposure to local forestry operations and the technologies driving the industry, including advanced manufacturing, automation, and digital systems. 
Alberta Forest Week is just behind us – one of those natural moments throughout the year where I take time to pause and reflect on the challenges behind us, the opportunities that lie ahead, and all of the people who make that work possible. This year, I find myself thinking about what it truly means to be part of a forest community. Because at its core, this sector isn’t just about trees — it’s about people. The ones who show up early, stay late, and take pride in work that often goes unseen. The ones who build their lives around the forests, who care deeply about the land, and who understand that what they do today matters for generations to come. …So however you choose to celebrate Alberta Forest Week — whether it’s a walk in the woods, taking a closer look at the products we rely on every day, or simply learning something new — please take a moment to recognize the people behind it all.
The amalgamation of Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities into nine regional bodies is expected to take effect in early 2027. A new directive from Environment Minister Todd McCarthy orders conservation authorities to halt any major decision-making processes, such as changing staffing structures or purchasing property, in the meantime. After a meeting between Environment Ministry officials and conservation authority staff on May 6, 2026, one public servant told The Narwhal, “The province has essentially handcuffed conservation authorities.” …A leaked document and a recording of an internal conversation between Ministry of Environment officials and conservation authority officials for this story. …In the recording, ministry officials are heard assuring attendees that they were happy to keep working with conservation authority staff, and that the government remains committed to preserving drinking water protections. But the officials repeatedly said things are still being figured out. They acknowledged the lack of answers was “not terribly reassuring” and “anxiety producing, probably” for conservation authorities. 
While Ontario has seen a much slower start to the wildfire season compared to last year, officials are warning people heading into the May long weekend that conditions can quickly change. There have been 22 wildfires confirmed in the province since the season began April 1, compared to 68 fires this time last year, said Alison Bezubiak, a fire information officer with Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services in the northwest region. “The 10-year average for this date is 56, so we are below last year and the 10-year average in terms of total number of fires confirmed,” she told CBC News Thursday morning. One small fire, measuring 0.1 hectares, is being held in the Kenora district near Grassy Narrows First Nation as of Thursday. However, forest fire danger ratings range throughout the region, with the Fort Frances area seeing extreme hazard levels, according to the province’s interactive forest fire map.
The Bureau of Land Management has repealed the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, commonly referred to as the Public Lands Rule, which put conservation on equal footing with mining, logging, and grazing of public lands. The rule required science-based decision-making, conservation considerations within multiple land uses and a focus on sustaining public lands for the long-term benefit of wildlife and the American people. “Today’s repeal of the Public Lands Rule abandons progress at the same moment climate change, chronic drought and accelerating habitat loss demand better stewardship from BLM,” said Maddy Munson, senior planning and policy specialist for federal lands at Defenders of Wildlife. …“This fits a pattern of brazen attempts to sell off and sell out our shared public lands at the expense of public access and conservation,” added Beau Kiklis, associate director of energy and landscape conservation at the National Parks Conservation Association.
WASHINGTON — The Intertribal Timber Council (ITC) expressed deep disappointment following the European Commission’s release of its EUDR simplification review, saying the package offers no meaningful relief for Indigenous Tribal Nations and leaves major concerns raised by Tribal forest managers unresolved. Despite months of engagement from Tribal representatives and repeated warnings about unintended impacts on Indigenous communities, the Commission declined to reopen the regulation and instead proposed only limited technical adjustments through implementing acts, FAQs, and guidance documents. As a result, compliance obligations affecting Tribal Nations in low-risk countries remain fundamentally unchanged. …US Tribal Nations manage 7.8 million hectares of forestland under sovereign governance systems. …The ITC is calling on the European Commission to recognize Tribal forests in the United States as low-risk, legally protected systems.
The Washington State Department of Natural Resources released its annual Forest Health Highlights report on Monday following a 2025 survey season defined by a period of unprecedented structural and administrative challenges. The joint aerial detection survey (ADS) flown by DNR and USDA Forest Service (USFS) staff covered 16.5 million acres of forested land across Washington, accounting for roughly 75% of the 22 million forested acres in the state and the first time since 2021 that a full survey was not completed. …The 2025 ADS recorded some level of tree mortality, defoliation, crown damage, or foliar disease on approximately 391,000 acres – a decrease of more than 150,000 acres from 2024, but certain to be an undercount given limitations of the 2025 survey.
A new direction in the Tongass management plan gathered more than 300 comments from Southeast Alaskans, who asked the U.S. Forest Service to manage timber and mining, along with recreation, in the forest they call home. The Coeur Alaska Kensington Mine said the revised plan should recognize the Tongass National Forest as a mining district, not solely as a timber or conservation reserve. “The revised Forest Plan should affirm that responsible mineral exploration and development are fully compatible with ecological stewardship, subsistence values, and multiple use when properly planned and regulated,” wrote Steve Ball, general manager of the mine. He also wrote Forest Service’s Roadless Area Conservation Rule prohibitions should not be applied to mining operations. Others criticized the Trump administration and made a plea to protect old-growth forests and the wildlife that live there. Some criticized the Forest Service itself for a rushed process.
EUGENE Ore. – The Bureau of Land Management has proposed increasing timber harvest on 2.4 million acres of federal forest land in Oregon, sparking a renewed debate over logging, wildfire risk and the future of old growth forests. The plan would return harvest levels to 1 billion board feet annually on O&C Lands (Oregon and California Railroad Revested Lands), about four times last year’s yield. Supporters say it would restore jobs and reduce fire danger. Environmental groups warn it could undo decades of protections and say they will challenge the plan in federal court. The O&C Lands are checkerboarded across western Oregon. Once owned by railroad barons, the government reclaimed the land over 100 years ago and opened it up to logging. After new environmental protections were implemented in the 1990s, logging levels plummeted. Last year those same lands yielded about a quarter of the proposed target.
LAKE TAHOE BASIN, Calif. – A yearlong investigation by Mother Jones is casting new scrutiny on the use of glyphosate in California forests at the same time the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit plans to use the controversial herbicide across thousands of acres in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Glyphosate, commonly sold under the brand name Roundup, is widely used to kill shrubs and hardwood vegetation that compete with replanted conifers after fires and logging operations. However, the herbicide has long been controversial. In 2015, the cancer research arm of the World Health Organization classified glyphosate as a “probable carcinogen,” and manufacturer Bayer has paid more than $12 billion in settlements tied to lawsuits alleging the herbicide caused cancer.
Brazil’s Atlantic forest, the country’s most threatened biome, last year recorded its lowest level of deforestation since monitoring began 40 years ago, a new report shows. The forest is Brazil’s most populous biome, and home to 80% of the population and major cities such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. In 2025 it recorded 8,658 hectares of deforestation, marking the first time it has fallen below 10,000 hectares since 1985. Environmentalists have welcomed the results, which they say could even lead to “zero deforestation” in the Atlantic forest within just a few years, but warned of potential risks that could reverse the downward trend of recent years. One is the recent approval of the so-called “devastation bill” in Brazil’s congress that drastically weakens environmental law. The other is the prospect of a far-right government, opposed to environmental protection policies, returning to power in the October presidential election…
UK — The significant decline in the number of trees produced by Britain’s nurseries provides a “stark illustration” of the sector’s ‘falling’ confidence, an industry leader has said. Around 139 million trees were grown in the UK’s private and public nurseries across 2025/26, a sharp fall on previous years. In both 2024/25 and 2023/24, nurseries grew slightly over 160 million trees, with 2022/23 totalling slightly under 152 million. This means the total number of trees produced fell by around 14% between 2024/25 and 2025/26. …The findings were contained with the Forestry Commission’s new Tree Supply report – published in late April – which pointed to reduced planting expectations in Scotland as being a major cause of the decline. Stuart Goodall, chief executive at industry body Confor, said: “the report provides a stark illustration of the concerns that have been raised for a number of years – government targets for tree planting are not being met and this is affecting confidence and business activity in the sector.