Project Learning Tree (PLT) just opened the applications for PLT Canada’s next Green Mentor cohort! We are looking for mentees (students or young professionals aged 18–35) and mentors (Green Jobs professionals with a least three years of professional experience). The six-month program will launch with 50 mentee-mentor pairs in October 2022, and applications close at the end of the summer. Almost 500 people have participated in a Green Mentor program, and 100% of participants from the last cohort with the World Forestry Congress would recommend it. Why be a green mentor? You can help foster your sector’s growth; share knowledge; enhance our career growth; and gain new perspectives. Your mentee will build confidence; network within the sector; develop their green career pathways; and increase their employability. An industry-leading platform and algorithm that matches people based on their personalities, goals, interests and more. This helps ensure that our mentor-mentee pairs build successful, productive and trusting relationships.
Justin Wilke, a Washington man in his late-thirties, found what seemed like the perfect candidate for poaching: a big-leaf maple located… in the Olympic National Forest. …Wilke and two associates hiked into the forest and began to clear the trees around their target. In the process, they found a wasp’s nest in the base of the maple. Their wasp spray wasn’t effective, so they decided to set the nest on fire. After failing to extinguish the blaze, Wilke and his team fled the scene. …Wilke was a leading suspect from the start. Prosecutors felt reasonably confident, but to bolster their case, they decided to turn to an unlikely source of evidence: tree DNA. …Big-leaf maples are not the only trees vulnerable to poaching. To curb the theft of other species, the Forest Service and Adventure Scientists are working on new databases for other species commonly stolen from public land.
Washington, D.C. and Ottawa, ON—The Sustainable Forestry Initiative, (SFI) announced five new SFI Community Grants today to support projects that make a meaningful impact in communities across the U.S. and Canada and that support SFI’s mission of advancing sustainability through forest-focused collaboration. “This year’s community grant recipients are working to develop forest literacy, strengthen urban forest management, support green job pathways, and build a diverse and resilient workforce—all while leveraging the connections and expertise of our SFI Implementation Committees and SFI-certified organizations,” said Kathy Abusow, President and CEO of SFI. The new grants will create experiences that invite community members across the United States and Canada to explore and connect with forests through interactive outdoor exhibits and in‑person forest tours. Several of these grants will also feature online tools such as apps and websites to provide a range of innovative community connections.
Using an innovative approach, the Hupacasath First Nation in Port Alberni is benefiting from nearly $112,000 in funding from the B.C. government as part of the Indigenous Forest Bioeconomy Program. Since time immemorial, people of the Hupacasasth First Nation have inhabited their territory on central Vancouver Island. Now, from the pristine forests of the Alberni Valley, they are creating Kleekhoot Gold bigleaf maple syrup from 100% bigleaf maple sap. This species creates syrup with an indescribable, unique flavour different from the eastern Canadian sugar maple. Doug Routley, Parliamentary Secretary for Forests, along with Josie Osborne, MLA for Mid Island-Pacific Rim, visited the Kleekhoot facility. “By locally producing maple syrup from the abundance of bigleaf maple trees unique to the west coast of British Columbia, the Hupacasath First Nation is showing us how we can all benefit from our forests in new and sustainable ways,” Routley said.
Quatsino First Nation (Quatsino or the Nation) and Western Forest Products Inc. (Western) have entered into an agreement that provides for a joint vision and approach to share opportunities related to forest resources in unceded Quatsino traditional territory. This agreement allows for a “bridging period” of increased stability for forestry workers and North Island communities as Quatsino, Western and the Province continue to pursue longer term reconciliation arrangements that respect and recognize Quatsino’s rights within its territory, and provide for North Island economic stability. The Quatsino / Western “Bridging Agreement” builds on a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Quatsino, Western and the Provincial government in 2020. This milestone agreement recognizes and respects Quatsino’s rights within its territory and creates a foundation to achieve Quatsino and Western’s shared goals around sustainability and predictability for forest resources. …The Bridging Agreement will be in place for three years and addresses several near-term priorities of both parties. 
A man with roots in Prince Albert has been named one of 11 recipients of a special scholarship by the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC), and he is the only one from Saskatchewan. …Andy Goodson is currently in his second summer as a Green Dream intern and has been working at Tolko Industries Ltd. “Working in forestry has been a life-changing experience for me. There is a lot to learn in the field. Every day presents its own unique set of challenges,” he said in a statement. “There’s no better way to put things into perspective than through writing, and I look forward to doing just that in the Green Dream internship program.” Goodson graduated last spring from the Integrated Resource Management program at Saskatchewan Polytechnic and is working on an eight-month term with Tolko Industries Ltd., Meadow Lake Woodlands. …FPAC’s Green Dream Interns receive a scholarship to support their ongoing education. 
UBC Faculty of Forestry’s Future Forests Fellowship (FFF), one of the largest single awards in the world given to an incoming doctoral student in forestry, is once again available in 2022. Made possible by a private Canadian foundation, the award, amounting to $280,000 over four years, was created to underscore just how much forestry research impacts global current and emerging ecological issues. It is awarded to a student who demonstrates leadership skills and who’s intended studies fit within one of the Faculty’s areas of research excellence. “Once again, we are so grateful to the foundation for this extraordinary opportunity to attract outstanding candidates from all over the world,” says Emma Tully, UBC Forestry Assistant Dean, Development, Alumni and External Relations. “We are looking for future leaders who are able to think critically about the many environmental challenges our planet faces and provide imaginative solutions that tackle those issues head-on.”
As an Environmental Studies major at UCLA, I began to better understand and appreciate the natural beauty and environmental services the forests on Vancouver Island provide. When I began researching and organizing to protect forests in Canada as an intern with Environment America, I became immersed in information about the resources that can be extracted from these important forests. However, this was not my first time thinking about forests in terms of wood products. My grandfather grew up on the island, and he worked for British Columbia Forest Products (BCFP), which was the largest logging company in the mid 20th century. …As an intern at Environment America, I learned how to campaign for the protection of forests critical to the climate, biodiversity and people, without villainizing the people who rely on the logging industry.
Please join us for this special oral history listening party hosted by the Forest History Association of British Columbia (FHABC). Widely respected as an innovator and significant industry contributor, Viv Williams discussed his long career in logging contracting (Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island, Skidegate Inlet, South Bentinck Arm, Spuzzum Creek) in interviews with Arnold McCoombs (1990) and Gerry Burch (1998). The Forest History Association’s Oral History Committee has made an audio-visual edit of this interview material and will host a (45 min+) Listening Party. If you are not already a member of FHABC, please consider joining by going to 
Wildfire season in Canada has not ended yet, but Yukon has reported that this year’s total burned areas have surpassed the 25-year average. Unusually dry and hot weather combined with lightning sparked over 160 fires last week in the territory. Firefighting was so intense that crews from BC were called on to control the flames. As of July 13, 2022, Yukon saw 138,639 hectares burn due to wildfires. By comparison, the average area burned of the territory within a 25-year period was at 101,621, according to a report by the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC). It was also noted that the amount of area burned to date is more than five times the area burned last year during the same period. The total area burned in Yukon in 2021 from year start to July was only 22,648 hectares.
The early decades of the current century have seen appreciation of our forest ecosystems sink to new lows through the promotion of “biomass,” for which trees are valued merely as fuel to burn in producing energy. And, of course, there is the long and storied history of lumbering and sawmilling, with corresponding values calculated in “board feet.” The single-minded and self-serving reductionist approach of industry’s profit-taking from our province’s forests contrasts sharply with the far more complex ecological reality. …The Lahey report calls for an ecological approach to forestry, based on the irrefutable conclusion that forestry practices should “give priority to protecting and enhancing ecosystems and biodiversity” as “the foundations on which the other values, including the economic ones, ultimately depend.” Surely this is the responsible path forward”. 
BILLINGS, Montana — U.S. officials solicited outside help as they craft definitions of old growth and mature forests under an executive order from President Joe Biden. The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management issued a notice seeking public input for a “universal definition framework” to identify older forests needing protection. Biden in April directed his administration to devise ways to preserve older forests as part of the government’s efforts to combat climate change. Biden’s order called for… the defining and inventorying all mature and old growth forests on federal land. After that, the agencies must identify the biggest threats those forests face and come up with ways to save them. …Environmentalists have said millions of acres of public lands should qualify. The timber industry and its allies have cautioned against a broad definition over concerns that could put new areas off limits to logging.
BERKELEY, California — The iconic grove of giant and ancient sequoia trees in California’s Yosemite National Park is no longer under direct threat from the wildfire still burning through a southern section of the park and the nearby Sierra National Forest. The Washburn Fire is more than 50% contained and officials said Sunday that residents of the mountain community of Wawona could begin returning to their homes. But it took more than the hard work of wildland firefighters. …Instead, foresters and ecologists say a half-century of intentional burning or ”prescribed fire” practices in and around the area dramatically reduced forest ”fuel” there, allowing the blaze to pass through the grove with the trees unscathed. “The fire entered the grove and luckily we had 50 years of prescribed fire history” there, says Garrett Dickman, a forest ecologist with Yosemite National Park. 
OREGON — A forester’s goal is to achieve a balanced approach to resource management by considering tradeoffs, environmental protections, operational feasibility and sustainability of activities. Ultimately, the concept of actively managing resources for current and future generations to enjoy is sustainable and should be seen as climate smart. …There are many opinions about what should or should not occur in the forest because it is human nature to attribute human-like characteristics or spiritual emphasis on those awe-inspiring things around us. …But, can we actually have our cake and eat it too when it comes to managing this resource? As a forester, I believe the answer is yes. But we must get out of our own way to allow science and the big picture to shine through. 
A major environmental group has continued to pursue litigation blocking the same wildfire forest management techniques that are currently helping to save a mass of iconic sequoias in California. The Earth Island Institute, a California-based organization, filed a federal lawsuit in June asking the court to halt a “biomass removal and thinning” project proposed by Yosemite National Park and the National Park Service (NPS). The lawsuit argued the plan would benefit commercial loggers, negatively impact endangered wildlife and was unnecessary, asserting dead tree density was irrelevant to potential wildfire proliferation. Under the proposal, the NPS had planned to cut down “hazard trees” and remove biomass like fallen dead trees that could contribute to wildfires, according to project documents. On July 5, though, Yosemite National Park agreed to halt its plans pending a court decision in the case.
BURLINGTON, Vwemonr – Vermonters looking to protect their land under the current use law will find updated parameters to do that. County foresters still want people to manage their land, but for some, it’s now about letting old growth flourish. The goal of current use is to promote healthy forests in Vermont. …When the law was created, it was a great way to maximize Vermont’s forests because the vast majority are privately owned. Being enrolled in the program meant a tax break as long as Vermonters were employing active management practices and stewardship of the land. That could mean opening it up to forestry or other management. The update passed by the Vermont Legislature creates a sub-category called 
Over the past 35 years, tree mortality risk in Australia’s tropical regions has doubled, according to new research. Such mortality would radically reduce biodiversity as well as carbon residency time, a threat faced by tropical rain forests around the world. “Moist tropical forests are some of the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems on the planet,” said lead author 