Category Archives: Forestry

Forestry

Five Canadians awarded national 2025 Green Dream Internship

The Forest Products Association of Canada
July 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Five students from across the country are bringing their unique voices to the forests this summer. Now in its twelfth year, Forest Products Association of Canada’s (FPAC) 2025 Green Dream Internship Program offers students an opportunity to explore the sector from the inside out, share their experiences, and receive a $1,000 scholarship to support their studies. Over six weeks, interns will document their time in the field through creative storytelling on social media and short videos capturing everyday moments in forest operations…. “The Green Dream Internship is a window into the next generation of talent in our sector”, said FPAC President and CEO, Derek Nighbor. 2025 Green Dream Interns include: Marina Penner, Mercer International, Peace River, AB; Cynthia Laflamme, Domtar, Dolbeau-Mistassini, QC; Andy Chen, West Fraser, Slave Lake, AB; Elizabeth Phillips, Tolko Industries, Meadow Lake, SK; and Logan Englot, Weyerhaeuser, Hudson Bay, SK

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Wisconsin and Minnesota Republicans call on Canada to curb wildfire smoke

By Kelly Malone
The Canadian Press in CTV News
July 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, United States

Six Republican lawmakers have sent a letter to Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador, calling for action on the wildfires sending smoke billowing across the international border into their states. Representatives Tom Tiffany, Brad Finstad, Tom Emmer, Michelle Fischbach, Glenn Grothman and Pete Stauber of Wisconsin and Minnesota said their constituents are coping with suffocating smoke from Canadian wildfires. “We would like to know how your government plans on mitigating wildfires and the smoke that makes its way south,” the letter said. The lawmakers said successive years of wildfires in Canada have undermined air quality in their states and robbed Americans of their ability to enjoy the summer. They pointed to forest management and arson as possible factors behind the fires. They did not mention climate change. …Canadian officials warned last month that this year’s wildfire season could shape up to be the second-worst on record… although the threat appears to have eased somewhat recently.

Related coverage in:

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Why Are There Stone Tree Trunks in the Arctic?

Nova by PBS
July 7, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Ellesmere Island, high in the Canadian Arctic, is only 800 miles from the North Pole. 50-million years ago, the treeless hillside would have been completely different.
[Watch on Youtube below or stream on PBS site – click Read More]

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Forest company outlines operations for qathet Regional District

By Paul Galinski
The Powell River Peak
July 12, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Jimmie Hodgson

Mosaic Forest Management provided qathet Regional District directors with an update on the company’s activities. At the July 9 committee of the whole meeting, Mosaic land user forester Colin Koszman and vice-president sustainability and chief forester Jimmie Hodgson outlined what the company has been doing… Hodgson said the company is 100 per cent Canadian owned. “We’re managing lands primarily on Vancouver Island, with some on the Sunshine Coast, from Victoria to Haida Gwaii,” said Hodgson. “We’ve been managing these properties for a long time. We’re looking to build long-term relationships with all the communities we work in and around. …Koszman said Mosaic does professional assessment on all its lands… Locally, Koszman said Mosaic has supported organizations such as Powell River Junior Forest Wardens, Powell River Salmon Society, Powell River Logger Sports, Lund fire hall, the Sunshine Coast Trail and Powell River Search and Rescue.

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‘The first machine of its kind’: Campbell River manufacturer creates first hybrid electric logging yarder

By Andy Garland
CTV News
July 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

T-Mar Industries Ltd, a Campbell River based manufacturer that specializes in building machines for the forestry industry, has developed the first ever hybrid electric logging yarder. “This is the first machine of its kind anywhere,” says Tyson Lambert, VP of T-Mar Industries Ltd. …Called the 7280E Hybrid Electric Drive Yarder, it has taken T-Mar five years to develop and uses electric drives that share power back and forth like a hybrid vehicle. “(It’s) very different from a traditional machine where it’s all mechanically linked and gears and clutches have to engage to make everything work,’ says Philip Biebach, mechanical engineer for T-Mar Industries Ltd. According to T-Mar, the 7280E is more powerful, easier to run, better on fuel, and requires less maintenance than a typical yarder. It will also reduce the carbon footprint in the forest by using less fuel and reducing emissions, the company says.

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UBC Forestry recruiting Canada Excellence Research Chair – Natural Resources Governance

By Faculty of Forestry
University of British Columbia
July 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

The Department of Forest Resources Management, Faculty of Forestry, at the University of British Columbia (UBC) Vancouver campus is recruiting an outstanding researcher in Natural Resources Governance. The successful candidate is expected to be eligible for a full-time appointment at UBC at the rank of Professor, or the rank of Associate Professor… The successful appointee will be nominated for a Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC). …The appointment presents a unique opportunity for leading research focused on developing, implementing, and maintaining a research program in natural resources governance capable of advancing multiple sustainable development priorities. …As a faculty member and CERC holder, the successful candidate will be expected to lead a strong, externally–funded research program, supervise postdoctoral fellows and graduate students, teach undergraduate and graduate courses, collaborate with other faculty members, and actively participate in service to the Department, University, and academic/scientific community.

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New habitat-protection measures support caribou in northeastern B.C.

By Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship
Government of British Columbia
July 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

The B.C. government, Fort Nelson First Nation and the B.C. Energy Regulator (BCER) are working collaboratively to implement new protection measures to support boreal caribou recovery in northeastern B.C. “Helping caribou populations recover is a complex challenge requiring multiple approaches to stabilize and reverse the decline of herds in B.C.,” said Randene Neill, Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship. “The Boreal Caribou Protection and Recovery Plan and the implementation of the new measures are crucial for caribou-recovery efforts in these four northeast ranges. The Fort Nelson First Nation community continues to be an integral partner in this important work.” …The Boreal Caribou Protection and Recovery Plan was co-developed by the B.C. government and Fort Nelson First Nation, with contributions from the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality. The plan is designed to meet federal and provincial targets for species-at-risk recovery, while supporting opportunities to strengthen the natural-resource economy in the region.

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First Nations protest unauthorized timber sale on unceded territory, ministry responds

By Tyson Whitney
North Island Gazette
July 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

The Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw First Nations (GNN) held a protest outside of the Ministry of Forests office in Port McNeill on July 7. The Nations noted in a media release the protest was in direct response to Interfor Corporation’s attempt to “sell timber harvesting rights within GNN’s unceded Traditional Territory—without GNN’s consent, participation, or recognition of its rights and interests.” “In 1964, the Gwa’sala and ‘Nakwaxda’xw peoples were forcibly removed from their ancestral homelands along the central coast of British Columbia. Displaced by federal policy and relocated to Port Hardy, our communities endured cultural disruption, disconnection from our lands, and inter-generational trauma that still lingers today. Now, more than 60 years later, we face a renewed form of dispossession, this time through economic exclusion.” …GNN noted they are calling on Interfor and the Province of British Columbia to: Immediately halt all timber tenure transfers that ignore Indigenous governance and ecological realities…

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What’s with the white stuff? Why the Northwest Territories has so much tree fluff this summer

By Natalie Pressman
CBC News
July 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Floating fluff? Summer snow? Cotton balls? If you’ve been noticing more of that white stuff floating around the N.W.T. this summer, you’re not alone. “One thing I noticed is a buildup of that stuff in my yard,” Yellowknifer Justin Grandjambe said. “When it’s windy it kind of gathers in corners and stuff … almost looks like a little bit of snow.” Turns out, that fluff is from trees dispelling their seeds. It’s a stress response from the poplars, aspen and willows reacting to the dry conditions from the past few years, according to the N.W.T.’s department of Environment and Climate Change (ECC). Within each fluff ball is a bunch of tiny seeds. The department’s experts couldn’t say how much more “fluff” there is this year compared to other years. That’s something that might also vary depending on where in the territory you’re looking.

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Wildfires scorched hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest, so what happens to those ecosystems after the flames die down?

By Stephanie Massicotte
CBC Radio
July 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Host Stephanie Massicotte speaks with an expert from the University of Saskatchewan about how long it takes forests to grow back, and whether people should step in to help. [Listen to the segment from Saskatoon Morning here]

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Next stage of engagement begins on Heritage Conservation Act improvements

By the Ministry of Forests
Government of British Columbia
July 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

In partnership with the First Nations Leadership Council, the Province is moving forward to the next stage of consultation and engagement on modernizing the Heritage Conservation Act. The act, which regulates the protection, management and conservation of cultural and heritage sites in B.C., was last substantively updated in 1996. “The Heritage Conservation Act is how we protect important cultural and archeological sites in B.C., but the current system doesn’t work well for people, and it doesn’t fully reflect our shared values or commitments,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests. “As we embark on this important engagement, I am committed to ensuring our collective work will lead to a system that will support faster permitting, better planning and more meaningful discussions with people, communities, industry and First Nations.” The project is a multi-year collaborative effort, mandated in 2021 and co-developed through the Joint Working Group on First Nations Heritage Conservation…

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Parks Canada and British Columbia invest more than $8 M to improve ecological connectivity

By Parks Canada
Cision Newswire
July 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

KELOWNA, BC—Parks Canada announced $5.3 million in federal funding to support an agreement to advance ecological corridor projects, nature conservation and Indigenous stewardship in British Columbia. The Honourable Randene Neill, Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, announced that the Province of British Columbia is contributing an additional $3 million, further strengthening this collaborative effort to improve ecological connectivity. …With support from both governments, the Stewardship of Ecological Corridors in British Columbia initiative focuses on identifying, planning, and acting to improve movement of wild species through ecological corridors — linkages that connect natural habitats, including protected and conserved areas. Ecological corridors provide biodiversity and human well-being benefits and are vital for the long-term health of ecosystems.

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Cowichan River flow to be reduced with dry weather ahead

My Cowichan Valley Now
July 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Flow at the Cowichan River will be reduced again with the lake at 48 per cent full. Brian Houle, environmental manager at Domtar’s Crofton pulp mill, says a meeting with regulators of the watershed on July 7 led to an agreement to reduce flow from seven cubic metres per second (cms) to 5.5. “Given the summer 2025 drought conditions in Cowichan Lake, careful watershed management decisions need to be made,” reads a news release from Houle. “Today’s water levels are not dissimilar to 2023, when several factors resulted in a fish kill event in the upper Cowichan River and pumping of lake to river was needed for extended period of 36 days in the fall.” In May, the flow was reduced to seven cms and Houle said the plan was to hold that rate through July and August. In 2023, the river flow was reduced to 4.5 cms in May. Houle says keeping it at seven this year was intended to reduce impacts on fish.

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B.C. not out of the woods yet as quieter fire season smoulders on

By Mark Page
Comox Valley Record
July 8, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

As the summer rolls on and the province heats up, B.C. is in a better position in terms of wildfires than in either of the past two years, according to a July 8 update from the BC Wildfire Service. So far this year, there have been 514 wildfire starts in B.C., but only 71 active fires as of July 8. By this date in 2024, there had been 422 starts, but 149 were active, and a province-wide campfire ban went into effect on July 12. Both years had a similar amount burned. The previous year, 2023, was the worst in B.C.’s fire season history. Officials noted that as the summer progresses, dry lightning events can become more frequent, resulting in an increased number of fires. …Taylor Colman, a fire information officer for the BC Wildfire Service appeared alongside Forests Minister Ravi Parmar to present the update to the media in Fort St. John at a BC Wildfire Service parattack base.

Additional coverage from the Canadian Press: B.C. Wildfire Service expecting more fires with forecast thunderstorms: minister 

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BC Timber Sales plans logging, wildfire mitigation in Bonnington area

By Bill Metcalfe
The Nelson Star
July 8, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

NELSON, BC — BC Timber Sales is talking to residents about logging and wildfire protection planned for the Falls Creek watershed in the Bonnington area. In a June 6 letter to residents posted on social media, Mark Tallman, planning forester for BCTS, said the agency is beginning a community watershed planning process that will include local residents. …Will BCTS have already decided which trees will be cut before the watershed plan is created? …A Ministry of Forests spokesperson said potential cut blocks have not yet been mapped. “The project is being designed to use early engagement with interested parties to help guide BCTS planning around forest harvesting, road construction, and wildfire risk reduction.” …An initial draft of the watershed forest plan is expected to be completed by “early winter 2026” and the “timing of the timber sale is anticipated to be around 2028-29 at the earliest.

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When normal forestry practices don’t cut it

By Bob Covey
Jasper Local
July 7, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

It’s a widely-accepted mystery: whether or not a tree that falls in the forest makes a sound. But what about the riddle that Jasper National Park officials were faced with last year: If hundreds of thousands of burned trees are down in high visitor use areas, who clears them away? Since the Jasper Wildfire Complex razed 33,000 ha of Jasper’s forests last July, Lethbridge’s Adam Ross and his team of arborists, foresters, danger tree specialists and wildlife tree assessors, have been cutting, pruning, clearing, mulching, sawing, chipping and generally making passable the area’s roads, right-of-ways and trails. “Bush surgeons, that’s who we are,” says Ross, who owns and operates Rossco’s Tree Service.  Ross’ company has been contracted to clear all of Jasper’s campgrounds, day-use areas and roadways impacted by the fire. The enormity of the crews’ task is difficult to put into perspective, and not just because of the sheer volume of trees to be cleared.

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Wildfire hazard assessment and abatement

By BC Wildfire Service
Government of British Columbia
July 4, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Fire hazard assessments and hazard abatement are key activities in reducing the potential threat of wildfires arising from fuels left on the land base following industrial activities. Under the Wildfire Act a person carrying out an industrial activity or prescribed activity is required to assess and abate fire hazards as necessary. The BC Wildfire Service has developed A Guide to Fuel Hazard Assessment and Abatement in British Columbia to assist those carrying out industrial activities determine whether or not fuel hazard abatement is necessary, and if so, the threshold necessary to comply with the legislated obligations. The guide provides a procedure to determine fuel hazards created by an industrial or prescribed activity on forest land and contains a straightforward step by step instruction to enable a person to determine when fuel hazard abatement is needed in relation to the fire risk, proximity to interface, and, fuel loading and arrangement.

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BC Is Burning! The film and the missing elephant in the room

By Eli Pivnick
Castanet
July 8, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Eli Pivnick

Late last month, the new documentary film, B.C. Is Burning!, was shown in Kelowna and Vernon. …The solutions [to reducing wildfire] proposed by the film include prescribed burns to reduce fuel load. By burning forested lands when conditions are not conducive to forest fires, the fires will be more controllable and cooler and not overly damaging to trees and soil, as can be the catastrophic fires we are now seeing. The other solution offered is thinning tree stands so fires spread less rapidly through the forest. …In the film, Murray Wilson, the film’s primary narrator and promoter, with more than 40 years experience working in the forest industry, perpetuates a number of the forest industry’s most frequently repeated myths. First, the film does not mention clearcut logging… Clearcut logging is the elephant in the room.

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Hydro-Québec using AI to reduce power outages caused by trees

By Charlotte Lepage
CBC News
July 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Montreal’s tree-lined streets are one of the city’s greatest assets — they clean the air, add bursts of green to the scenery and help push the concrete background. But when storms hit, those trees clash with the urban landscape and are a major cause of power outages. That’s why Hydro-Québec is now using new technologies to find a way for trees to coexist with its power lines. “We’re trying to make a digital twin of the network to see if there are interactions between the tree and the network,” said Étienne Langdeau, director of vegetation management for Hydro-Québec. Artificial intelligence then measures the trees before and after a weather event, like a windstorm, to see which branches broke. The algorithm uses this information to get better at predicting which branches are most likely to snap. In turn, technicians can preemptively cut these branches before they become a problem.

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Trump administration wants to increase logging on federal land to reduce fire risks. Not everyone agrees.

By Seiji Yamashita
CBS News
July 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

OREGON — Jeff Brink takes pride in working on the same land his father did, in the national forests surrounding Oakridge, Oregon. But in the decades since, less and less timber has been harvested, and more and more megafires have threatened his hometown. “There needs to be some active management, because no management has given us this result,” he said. When the Trump administration announced executive actions aimed at increasing timber production on federal lands, Oregonians had mixed responses. Loggers and timber towns celebrated the attention, while environmentalists sounded the alarm over fears of deregulation and environmental harm. Local stakeholders wonder what forest management will look like in practice. …The timber industry and environmentalists still have questions as to the actual implementation of policy and changes in practices by federal agencies. Oregon Wild is one of many environmental groups that believe the new executive actions threaten landmark environmental laws.

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Chairman Lee Applauds Repeal of Roadless Rule in Forest Budget Hearing

U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
July 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

Mike Lee

WASHINGTON –Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, convened a hearing today to examine the President’s FY26 budget request for the U.S. Forest Service. A major focus of the hearing was the recent announcement of the repeal of the 2001 Roadless Rule—a long-overdue decision that Senator Lee praised as a victory for forest health, wildfire prevention, and timber harvesting. “The Roadless Rule prohibited road construction and timber harvesting on nearly 59 million acres of national forest land, including 60% of Forest Service land in Utah,” said Chairman Lee. “While its intent may have been to preserve the environment, its actual impact has been an environmental disaster.” Senator Lee pressed Forest Service Chief Schultz on the decades-long effects of the rule, asking whether it helps or hinders wildfire mitigation efforts. He also asked what the repeal would mean for timber harvesting and active land management going forward.

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US Senate Dems from Western states blast Trump budget for cutting federal aid

By Jacob Fischler
Lansing City Pulse
July 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

Members of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee differed along party lines at a Thursday hearing about how the U.S. Forest Service should partner with states and how the federal wildfire response should be organized. Senators of both parties emphasized the importance of working with state forest managers. But while Republicans praised the efforts of Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz … to reach out to state governments, Democrats noted that President Trump’s budget request for fiscal 2026 proposed eliminating a key program for state and tribal partnerships. Democrats on the panel also raised a series of questions about the still-unfinished Forest Service budget request as the next fiscal year approaches in less than three months. Schultz told the senators the budget proposal was not yet final, but confirmed the agency was telling states to prepare for zero dollars in discretionary spending for the State, Private, and Tribal Forestry program in fiscal 2026.

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US Forest Service to cut $391M

By Andrew Rice
The Center Square
July 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

The U.S. Forest Services plans to cut its budget by $391 million for fiscal year 2026, according to a proposed budget request. A large portion of the cuts to the forest services budget are expected to be implemented into the new U.S. Wildland Fire Service within the Department of the Interior. Tom Shultz, chief of the U.S. Forest Service, laid out plans to integrate fire service operations within the department and highlighted its focus on a “back-to-basics approach” at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources hearing on Thursday. “The fiscal year 2026 President’s budget refocuses forest service efforts on active forest management, critical minerals permitting, recreation [and] energy development,” Shultz said. Some senators on the committee criticized the forest service’s plans to consolidate fire operations in the Department of Interior.

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Going digital – Brushing paint aside for digital tree-marking methods

By Elizabeth Munding
USDA US Forest Service
July 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

With a paint can in hand, a forester walks step by step through the dense Arizona ponderosa pine forest, marking trees with distinctive orange streaks. The forester is part of a timber-marking crew assessing if each tree should stay or go during harvest, per a prescription from the Forest Service silviculturist. Trees to remain receive the orange marking; the others will be harvested. Timber-marking crews cover thousands of acres of Forest Service lands each year, prepping critical thinning projects to reduce the number of trees and move forest lands toward a condition less vulnerable to catastrophic wildfire. With this laborious operation, many began to ask: Couldn’t there be a more efficient way of marking trees?

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Northland lawmakers urge for better forest management in Canada

By T Kaldahl
Norther News Now
July 8, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Northland congressmen are pushing for stronger forest management practices in Canada. Representatives Tom Tiffany of Northwest Wisconsin and Pete Stauber of Northeast Minnesota were included on the letter sent to Canada’s ambassador Kirsten Hillman urging better management of forests to help with wildfire risk. In the letter, the lawmakers wrote: “As I’m sure you know, this is not the first year Canadian wildfire smoke has been an issue. …While we know a key driver of this issue has been a lack of active forest management, we’ve also seen things like arson as another way multiple large wildfires have ignited in Canada. With all the technology that we have at our disposal, both in preventing and fighting wildfires, this worrisome trend can be reversed if proper action is taken.” …The letter asked the ambassador to address the issue with key Canadian agencies, such as the Canadian Forest Service.

Letter to Ambassador Hillman

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What Could the End of the Roadless Rule Mean for Montana’s National Forests?

By Tristan Scott
The Flathead Beacon
July 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced last month that the administration was taking steps to rescind a decades-old policy to restrict road building and timber harvests on 58.5 million acres of national forest lands… U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., called it “another huge win for Montana and forest management.” …The impetus for the Roadless Rule tracks back to 1998, when former U.S. Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck saw the agency’s vast and poorly maintained road system as a major environmental and fiscal problem… “The Roadless Rule was issued to make government more efficient by not building roads in sensitive areas when we already have far more roads than we can afford to maintain,” Keith Hammer, executive director of the Swan View Coalition said. “Rescinding the rule will result in government waste and environmental harm, all at taxpayer expense.” 

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The future of pianos and the timber industry

By Jasz Garrett
The Juneau Empire
July 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The Trump administration announced plans to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule, changing the political landscape in the Tongass National Forest for the third time in five years. …The U.S. Forest Service owns approximately 78% of the available land, meaning timber operators are dependent on the federal agency for a majority of their supply. Kirk Dahlstrom, co-owner of Viking Lumber Company in Klawock, said the agency is nine years behind on timber supply for the entire Southeast Alaska industry. He said his business will not survive if land management remains under Forest Service control. …Viking is the last remaining sawmill in the world that can produce the high-quality Sitka spruce needed for soundboards for grand pianos… Pacific Legal Foundation filed a lawsuit on March 6 against the U.S. Department of Agriculture on behalf of Alaska Forest Association. Viking Lumber Company and Alcan Timber of Ketchikan joined.

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Trump’s big bill calls for much more logging. One provision could cost Oregon counties

By Tristin Hoffman
The Oregonian
July 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

New federal laws could “lock up” timber land for decades at a time, raising concerns big companies could elbow out smaller competitors and that timber revenue for counties could be delayed for years. President Donald Trump’s tax cuts and spending bill, which he signed into law earlier this month, increases the length of federal logging contracts to a minimum of 20 years. The contracts, which determine how long a logging company has to harvest on the land under contract, have typically averaged three to four years, and the longest contracts extended up to 10 years. The concern raised by a coalition of timber companies and local governments is that companies could sign long-term contracts, then wait years to harvest trees. “If the timber volume is tied up in these 20 year contracts,” Doug Robertson, executive director of the Association of O&C counties, said, “that volume then is no longer available to generate revenue for the counties and the state.”

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Trump wants to cut research centers like the one in this Pacific Northwest forest

By Lynda Mapes
Seattle Times
July 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest

Budget cuts proposed by the Trump administration could lead to the closure of 26 long-term ecological research, or LTER, facilities across the United States, including the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest in Oregon. President Donald Trump has pitched these cuts to the National Science Foundation for the next budget year, which starts in October. Congress will debate them this summer. Congress will debate these proposed budget cuts this summer, with a House committee considering impacts on the National Science Foundation on July 7. A lot is at stake. The National Science Foundation funds the LTER network, which includes 2,000 scientists at the 26 sites across the country, dedicated to long-term ecological research across a range of landscapes, from tropical rainforests to arctic tundra, seascapes and everything in between.

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The Bureau of Land Management to sell Shoshone County timberlands

Coeur d’Alene Press
July 8, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: US West

MULLAN, Idaho — The Bureau of Land Management is offering the Gentle Annie Timber Sale, totaling approximately 493,000 board feet, for commercial thinning on 100 acres near Mullan, east of Kellogg in Shoshone County. The harvested timber will supply critical materials for construction and other industries, supporting jobs across Idaho’s Panhandle. This thinning project will remove dead and downed wood caused by insects and disease, leaving an average of 55 trees per acre. The result: a healthier, more fire-resilient forest. “We’re excited to continue our work in the Mullan Urban Interface and hope this timber sale will help reduce the town’s risk of catastrophic wildland fire,” said BLM District Manager Kurt Pindel. “We’ll also be limiting the spread of insects and disease within the timber stand, as well as harvesting some merchantable timber for the local economy.” 

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Bureau of Land Management to offer up to 54 million board feet of timber in western Oregon

By Samantha Ducker
US Bureau of Land Management
July 8, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: US West

PORTLAND, Ore – The Bureau of Land Management will offer several timber sales in July, totaling about 54 million board feet to be harvested from nearly 1,900 public acres across Western Oregon. Timber produced by these sales will provide critical supplies for construction and other industries, and support jobs across local economies. “More than 20% of BLM-managed lands are forest and woodland ecosystems. The BLM ensures the health and resilience of these public forest lands as well as the availability of traditional forest products, such as timber,” said BLM OR/WA State Director Barry Bushue. “Timber sales help to improve, maintain, and restore forest health, water quality, and fish and wildlife habitat and to reduce wildfire risk.”bThe Roseburg District will offer two sales near Oakland in Douglas County, the Mean Mustard timber sale (2.2 million board feet, 132 public acres); and the Sternbreaker timber sale 6.9 million board feet, 247 public acres). 

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Fish, Wildlife and Parks Approves Next Phase of Project to Conserve Timber Forests in Northwest Montana

By Tristan Scott
The Flathead Beacon
July 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: US West

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) completed its review of a proposal to permanently protect 53,000 acres of private timberland in Flathead and Lincoln counties, recommending the state purchase a conservation easement that would keep the working forest in timber production while guaranteeing year-round public access and preserving wildlife habitat. The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission is scheduled to vote on the proposal on Aug. 21 in Helena. …In total, the project would encompass 85,752 acres of private timberland owned by Green Diamond Resource Company. The first phase of the project… received final approval in December. The new easement would encompass forestlands in the Cabinet Mountains between Kalispell and Libby. …If approved, Green Diamond would maintain ownership of the land under an easement owned by FWP [allowing them to] sustainably harvest wood, preclude development, protect important wildlife habitat and associated key landscape connectivity, and provide permanent free public access to the easement lands.

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Rainy Rambles: The importance of dead wood to a forest

By Rebecca Lexa
Discover Our Coast
July 7, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Our many stunning hiking and walking trails in the Columbia-Pacific region offer locals and visitors alike wondrous views of forests of many different stages of succession, from recent clearcuts attempting to come back to life, to ancient old growth stands that somehow avoided the ax and the saw. The beauty of our area is one of its most valuable assets — so it may seem odd to some people that these forests include significant numbers of dead trees. Some call them ugly, while others refer to them as beautiful, but they do in fact have formal names. A standing dead tree is known as a snag, but once it falls to the ground it is a nurse log, so named because its rotting wood nurses young plants and fungi in their first years of life. One could also refer to a decaying stump covered in mosses, lichens, and other green growing things as a nurse stump.

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How can we protect cool water in Western Washington’s forest streams?

Department of Ecology
State of Washington
July 7, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Streams that wind through Western Washington’s forests are essential habitat for frogs, bugs, and lots of other tiny critters. These streams are also a critical source of clean, cool water downstream. This means these streams are an important part of large watershed ecosystems. For the past 26 years, the timber industry, Tribes, environmental organizations, and Washington State agencies have worked together to address pollution and meet water quality standards through the “Forests and Fish Agreement.” The agreement aims to address pollution that can come from forestry activities like logging and forest road construction and maintenance, while maintaining both a viable timber industry and water quality. This coordination primarily happens through the Forest Practices Board, an independent state agency chaired by the elected Commissioner of Public Lands. Rules adopted by the Board are implemented and enforced by Washington’s Department of Natural Resources.

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A look at Louisiana’s timber industry 2 years after wildfires

By Colin Vedros
KALB News
July 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

ALEXANDRIA, Louisiana — Wildfires and drought destroyed over 60,000 acres of trees in the summer and fall months of 2023 and costing the state $71 million in timber loss. …The wildfires came from record-breaking high temperatures and little to no measurable rainfall that summer. Now, as Louisiana continues to revive its timber industry, there is a renewed interest in the Virginia pine trees that are across the state. But that is also being facilitated by the potential for tariffs on Canadian and Chinese wood and wood products. “The issue has been of Canada and China flooding our markets with their products,” Dr. Mike Strain, the commissioner of Louisiana’s Department of Agriculture and Forestry said. “So, all of that together, I think we’re going to see a strengthening in the timber industry.” …Strengthening the timber industry also calls for more paper mills. “We really need a mill in the Florida parishes,” he said.

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Estonia considers controlled burning to improve the condition of forests

Baltic News Network
July 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Last year, more than 112 thousand hectares of dry forests were listed in the Estonian Natura 2000 habitats. These are forests with minimal anthropogenic load, and in Estonia they are overgrown dunes, old natural forests and spruce forests with rich ground cover. The Estonian Environmental Service, the University of Tartu and the Estonian University of Life Sciences are jointly developing a plan for the maintenance of dry forests. Taavi Tattar, Head of the Nature Conservation Planning Department of the Environmental Service, pointed out that dry forests are in poor condition both in Estonia and throughout Europe. “They’re either too uniform in age or have impoverished structure. Certain species need forests with diverse structures for their life and activities, coarse woody debris, dead trees, and so on. On a broader scale, diverse forests are also more resistant to disease and better able to adapt to climate change,” Tattar said.

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The right mix and planting pattern of trees enhance forest productivity and services

EurekAlert! Press Release
July 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

A new paper published in Nature Communications reveals how the way tree species are arranged in a forest can help optimise ecosystem functioning and productivity. The study was conducted using empirical field data combined with advanced computer models and simulations by researchers at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Leipzig University, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). The researchers simulated virtual forests with multiple arrangements of tree species, such as block and mini-block designs, plantings in single and double lines, and fully random distributions. These simulations incorporated real data from the BEF-China (Biodiversity-Ecosystem Functioning) experiment, including tree growth models (based on field inventories), litterfall collections, and decomposition rate measurements. This data allowed the researchers to model the effect of spatial arrangement on ecosystem functions, such as tree productivity, nitrogen, and carbon cycling.

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Organized Crime in The Amazon: A Growing Threat to the World’s Greatest Tropical Rainforest

By Charles (Chip) Barber
World Resources Institute
July 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Brazil once again leads the world in the loss of primary tropical forests. New data shows the country accounted for 42% of global primary rainforest loss in 2024, largely due to widespread fires throughout the nation and in neighboring Bolivia, Colombia and Peru. The 2024 spike in Amazon forest loss was due in large part to one of the worst fire seasons on record. But what’s often missed is the fact that recent fires in tropical primary forests are by no means a “natural” disaster. Rather, the conflagration represents a perfect storm of climate change-induced environmental conditions, governance failures and unchecked, organized criminality. Fires in the Amazon are largely started by arson and related criminal activity accompanying agriculture, logging, mining and road building. In fact, a recent survey of government data concluded that 91% of forest loss in the Brazilian Amazon is linked to illegal activity like land-clearing for agriculture and artisanal mining, often orchestrated by well-structured international criminal enterprises.

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New study confirms Forest Stewardship Council certification contributes to maintaining and increasing forest cover

Forest Stewardship Council
July 7, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

A new study in The Journal of Cleaner Production confirms that Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification contributes to maintaining and increasing forest cover, especially in lower-middle income countries. These findings reinforce the conclusions of previous research and provide insights on adapting regional certification strategies to increase sustainable forest management. The study investigated the critical role of FSC certification in promoting sustainable forest management and mitigating deforestation across diverse economic and climatic contexts. Using dynamic panel data model and Generalized Method of Moments estimations on 70 countries from 2000 – 2021, the researchers examined forest cover as a measure for impact of FSC certification. Results indicate that FSC certification contributes to maintaining and increasing forest cover across diverse economic and climatic contexts. This positive impact is most strongly observed in lower-middle income countries. Scaling up certification and integrating it into national policies could benefit countries of this economic category. 

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Forestry Australia Welcomes Timber Fibre Strategy as a Science-Led Vision for Forests and the Future

Forestry Australia
July 7, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Forestry Australia has welcomed the release of the Federal Government’s Timber Fibre Strategy, congratulating Minister Julie Collins and the Albanese Government for delivering a timely and important roadmap to support a sustainable, world-leading forest and wood products sector. The Strategy recognises the critical role of science, innovation, and active forest management in ensuring that Australia’s forests can continue to deliver environmental, economic, cultural and social outcomes for generations to come. Dr Michelle Freeman, President of Forestry Australia, said the Strategy provides a clear signal that science-led forest management and a resilient forest sector are central to Australia’s future. “As the professional association representing forest scientists and professionals, we are particularly encouraged by the Strategy’s strong emphasis on science, good ecological practice and evidence-based decision-making,” Dr Freeman said.

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