Canada biggest cities have lost their green spaces at staggering rates over the past two decades, new data from Statistics Canada suggests. On Thursday, the national statistics agency released urban greenness data for 1,016 towns and cities across the country. The results show that over the past 22 years, urban greenness dropped in every province—average falling eight percentage points across the country. “A lot of people are putting a lot of effort into managing trees canopies and appreciating more vegetation in the city,” said Joanna Eyquem at the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation. …In its latest analysis of Canadian cities, the country’s national statistics agency found decreases in green space were most pronounced in large urban population centres — those with more than 100,000 residents — where 10.5 per cent of urban greenness disappeared over the last two decades.
It’s more than a month until Christmas, but Jingle Bells are turning to alarm bells as fresh Christmas trees are expected to be in short supply this year. “I would say buy sooner rather than later,” says Larry Whitehead, a Surrey commercial grower and a member of the B.C. Christmas Tree Association. “It looks like we’re going to be tight on supply again this year.” The irony is that Canada’s most treed province simply can’t meet the demand for fresh-cut Christmas trees and has to import the conifers from Washington, Oregon, Quebec and Nova Scotia, says Whitehead. The problem is Christmas tree farms are vanishing — from 500 a decade ago to about 400 now — as owners retire and sell off their land. B.C. supplies are also being hit hard by extreme weather. The heat dome in 2021 was compounded by a drought this past summer that could affect quality and supplies…
A new approach to provincial forestry agreements will lead to faster action on harvesting areas damaged by wildfire, provide more timber for mills and set up faster reforestation through the leadership of First Nations. New Wildfire Salvage Opportunity Agreements will enable the timely direct award of forestry licences to First Nations for salvaging timber damaged by wildfire. Streamlining the process to harvest timber affected by wildfire will support mills by ensuring they can access fire-damaged logs before they degrade and still have commercial value. “We are working in partnership with First Nations and the forestry industry to accelerate salvage in these areas, supporting jobs at mills and enhanced forest regrowth,” said Katrine Conroy, Minister of Forests. “We have heard loud and clear from First Nations that they want more opportunities to participate in forestry.”
The Innovative Finance for National Forests (IFNF) grant program announces the opening of its next round of solicitations for program funding. The IFNF grant program supports the development and implementation of innovative finance models that leverage private and public capital other than U.S. Forest System (USFS) annual appropriations to enhance the resilience of the National Forest System (NFS). The grants are funded and administered by the USDA Forest Service National Partnership Office (NPO) and the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities. …the IFNF grant program provides grants for the development and implementation of innovative financing projects in the areas of wildfire resilience and recovery, watershed health, and sustainable recreation infrastructure and access. Feasibility, pilot, and scaling projects will be considered for IFNF funds. Deadline for proposal submission is March 6, 2023.
Every year, land managers intentionally set millions of acres on fire across the United States. Last month, one of those prescribed fires in Eastern Oregon’s Grant County had the rare distinction of making news headlines. On Oct. 19, Grant County Sheriff Todd McKinley 
MISSOULA, Montana — Outside the U.S. Forest Service Region 1 headquarters in Missoula last Monday, the trees spoke for themselves. …A group of protesters from a cross-section of environmental and wildlife conservation groups assembled on the steps of the agency’s office at the historic Fort Missoula, demanding a permanent rule to protect mature and old-growth trees from being cut down. …They wanted the Forest Service to make a permanent rule protecting mature and old-growth trees from being cut down. …Speakers described the federal agency as a pro-logging bureaucracy reluctant to follow orders to inventory and protect mature and old-growth timber stands that hold immense value for the environment and logging industry alike. The trees, the protesters repeatedly stated, are “worth more standing.” …The protest was one of many at Forest Service regional headquarters nationwide coordinated by the Climate Forests Campaign, according to Adam Rissien, the rewilding manager at WildEarth Guardians. 
Under the guise of “protecting” mature and old growth forests, anti-forestry groups are pressuring the Biden administration to impose new regulations further restricting timber harvesting and other management activities on overstocked and fire-prone national forests in Oregon and throughout the West. Such a policy would be disastrous as our forests, communities and wildlife continue to be devastated by wildfires and smoke. Limiting the ability of federal agencies to mitigate these risks will only lead to less old growth on our public lands and more carbon emissions. The fact is the West is losing mature and old growth forests to severe wildfires, not logging. . …Further limiting forest management and reducing our regional wood supply will only lead to more wildfires, more carbon emissions, and more losses of mature and old growth forests.
SOUTH DAKOTA — An independent review confirms a report calling for reduced timber sales in the Black Hills National Forest. …The 2021 General Technical Report (GTR) from forest service researchers says based on existing timber inventory, current harvest levels are too high. The USDA recently released its response to a challenge to the report, which sought some clarification, but not enough to withdraw its recommendation. …Ben Wudke, with the Black Hills Forest Resource Association… and others in the timber industry worry continued timber sale reductions will force more Black Hills mills to close. Decades of disturbances—from mountain pine beetle infestations to wildfires—have decreased the available timber suitable for lumber. …Dave Mertz, retired Black Hills National Forest resource officer said the response did not change the substance of the report, which suggests reducing timber sale volumes.
RIO BRANCO, Brazil — For years, scientists have been warning that the Amazon is speeding toward a tipping point — the moment when deforestation and global warming would trigger an irreversible cascade of climatic forces, killing large swaths of what remained. If somewhere between 20 and 25 percent of the forest were lost, models suggested, much of the Amazon would perish. About 18 percent of the rainforest is now gone, and the evidence increasingly supports the warnings. Whether or not the tipping point has arrived — and some scientists think it has — the Amazon is beginning to collapse. More than three-quarters of the rainforest, research indicates, is showing signs of lost resilience. …For many scientists, the most pressing question is no longer whether the Amazon is reaching a tipping point, but what will come after. Some say a degraded, open-canopy forest. Others say it will remain closed, but deformed. 
The European Parliament and EU member states reached an agreement late on November 10 on a new law regulating the contribution of the forestry and land use sector to the EU’s 2030 climate goals. Under the political agreement reached yesterday, the EU will aim to remove 310 million tonnes of net CO2 equivalent from the land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector sectors by 2030. Marian Jurečka, the Czech minister of the environment… “The deal ensures different circumstances in each member state are taken into account when setting further ambition towards the 2030 targets.” …Under the agreement, EU negotiators upheld until 2025 the existing “no debit rule”, which says emissions from LULUCF sectors should not exceed removals. …To prevent backsliding on those targets, EU countries will be assigned a carbon budget for 2026-2029 and a trajectory of indicative, annual values on removals and emissions.