Category Archives: Forestry

Forestry

Canada’s plans to plant two billion trees best accomplished by looking close to home

By Ivan Semeniuk
The Globe and Mail
January 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

In the 19th century, the forests that surrounded some of Canada’s oldest and most populated cities were key to the economics of European settlement and helped lay the foundation for a new country. Now, those same places could become essential to Canada’s future – not through further clearing and development, but by encouraging the trees to grow back. That’s the takeaway from a comprehensive analysis that seeks to optimize the country’s 2 Billion Trees effort… “It’s asking where in Canada are we going to achieve the highest growth rate of trees at the least cost,” said Ronnie Drever, senior conservation scientist with Nature United who led the study… The findings show that the best return on investment are not to be found in the remote boreal wilderness but in diverse pockets of land that are relatively close to the cities and towns that most Canadians call home. [A subscription required to read this article]

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Australian forestry professionals join Canada, UK and New Zealand as part of international exchange program

Forestry Australia
January 15, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, International

A pilot international exchange program between Canada, the UK, New Zealand and Australia has been developed to offer participants an opportunity to gain diverse perspectives as well as foster personal and professional growth. Forestry Australia CEO, Jacquie Martin, said Australia is delighted to be part of a pilot international exchange program with the Canadian Institute of Forestry, the Institute of Chartered Foresters, United Kingdom and the New Zealand Institute of Forestry. “The pilot international exchange program offers a unique opportunity for emerging leaders in forestry and forest management to participate in a 3-month paid international work placement,” Ms Martin said. “It allows participants to build global networks, exchange knowledge and gain hands on experience. “Participants will be able to immerse themselves in a new environment, assisting them develop adaptability, broadening expertise, and collaborating on shared opportunities and challenges.”

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New expert advisory board takes action at intersection of climate, nature, and technology

By Canada’s Forest Trust Corporation
Cision Newswire
January 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

OTTAWA, ON – Canada’s Forest Trust Corporation (CFTC) announced the launch of its National Advisory Board, bringing together experts and leaders to accelerate nature-based solutions in Canada. Advisors will provide guidance to the social enterprise, furthering the commitment to plant and protect forests that are measurable through cutting-edge digital dashboards. CFTC and its National Advisory Board will work together to help organizations like businesses and national youth groups reach their sustainability goals, while advancing climate and biodiversity action in Canada. …Collectively, advisors bring expertise in biodiversity, forestry, education, youth engagement, Indigenous partnerships, data, business, and climate adaptation, as well as experience in various industries from insurance to retail to the auto sector. …”CFTC is growing quickly, with expectations of supporting the growth of millions of trees in healthy ecosystems over the next five years alone,” said JP Gladu, Principal of Mokwateh and advisor on the CFTC National Advisory Board.

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Pesticide use in Canada soars, even as danger becomes clearer

By Marc Fawcett-Atkinson
The National Observer
January 8, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Pesticide use in Canada has skyrocketed over the past two decades. Pesticide manufacturers sold Canadians more than 130 million kilograms of pesticides in 2021, a fivefold increase from 2005, a new analysis has found. The findings come amid growing alarm about the human health harms and environmental impacts of pesticides. …For instance, last month American researchers found that glyphosate can increase the risk of neurological disease. Health experts have also linked widely-used neonicotinoid insecticides to reproductive harms and other health issues, while their harm to insects prompted a European ban in 2018. …The Ecojustice study found a silent surge in use of the products, driven by a combination of the widespread use of crops that are genetically modified to resist herbicides; using pesticides as a preventative measure against pests instead of as targeted treatments; and forestry practices that rely on spraying forests with herbicides to kill off unwanted plants.

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Range investigation finds need for stronger government enforcement

BC Forest Practices Board
January 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board is identifying opportunities for government to enhance how it manages and enforces range activities. This is following a complaint investigation about cattle grazing practices near Grand Forks. The board investigated concerns raised by the Southern Interior Land Trust (SILT) that two range agreement holders were not following their grazing schedules or maintaining fences as required by law, and that government actions taken in response to their concerns were inadequate. From 2021 until 2023, SILT observed cattle grazing on its private land it had purchased to conserve wildlife habitat. SILT contacted the Ministry of Forests’ range staff to request corrective action, sharing proof of the cattle grazing gathered using game cameras. …“It’s crucial that government record results when it conducts inspections,” said Keith Atkinson, chair, Forest Practices Board. “Documentation helps evaluate the accuracy of complaints, the effectiveness of enforcement efforts and can support corrective measures, if necessary.”

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An unforgettable summer internship in Finland

By Benedict Roeser, 3rd yr student
University of British Columbia, Faculty of Forestry
January 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Benedict Roeser

This summer, I had the privilege of interning with Metsähallitus in Finland, which offered an amazing opportunity to gain experience in forestry and reconnect with the country after 12 years away. Returning to Finland was both a personal and professional highlight. …One of the most insightful aspects of the internship was learning about the differences in forestry practices between Finland and British Columbia. The level of efficiency and precision in Finnish forestry was impressive, especially in their approaches to silviculture. Observing how Finland implements sustainable practices in a way that balances ecological integrity with productivity has given me a new perspective on the possibilities within forest management. A standout experience was participating in a prescribed burn, an invaluable introduction to fire ecology. Seeing firsthand the positive effects that controlled burns have on soil health and biodiversity helped me realize the positive effects fire can have in forest management.

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First courses in Thompson Rivers University’s Wildfire Studies program to begin in September

By Aaron Schulze
CFJC Today Kamloops
January 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

KAMLOOPS — Details of a Wildfire Studies Diploma program at Thompson Rivers University have been unveiled. Following a 30-day public feedback process, TRU says the university’s Senate and Board of Governors approved five certificates and one diploma program at the Centre for Wildfire Research, Education, Training and Innovation (TRU Wildfire). In a news release issued Jan. 14, TRU says three of the certificates that are expected to start in September 2025 are each a semester in length and equal to nine credits. They include Wildfire Science (Faculty of Science), Sociocultural Dynamics of Wildfire (Faculty of Adventure, Culinary Arts and Tourism) and Wildfire Communications and Media (Faculty of Arts). Two other approved certificates — Wildfire Leadership and Emergency Communications — are expected to start in 2026, along with the diploma in wildfire studies. 

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Lake Babine company signs log supply deal with Smithers mill

By Thom Barker
The Interior News
January 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Lake Babine Nation’s forestry company has signed a long-term log supply and forest management agreement West Fraser, which owns the Pacific Inland Resources sawmill in Smithers. Lake Babine Nation Forestry Limited Partnership (LBN Forestry) will supply the mill through its new First Nations Woodland Licence (FNWL) and provides for West Fraser to work with LBN Forestry in the sustainable long-term management of the licence, consistent with Lake Babine Nation’s traditional values. “This agreement is a significant milestone marking the implementation of the Lake Babine Nation Foundation Agreement that was signed with the Province on September 18, 2020,” said Chief Wilf Adam… Adam noted the new FNWL also provides increased governance over the Nation’s resources, which supports improved fibre security to forest sector businesses in the region.

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Parks Canada working to reduce wildfire risk in Jasper, Banff national parks

By Peter Shokeir
Western Wheel
January 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Parks Canada assures it is actively preparing for the upcoming wildfire season through risk reduction work in Jasper and Banff national parks this winter. Natalie Fay, external relations manager for Banff National Park, said in a media briefing Parks Canada uses a variety of tools and strategies such as prescribed fires, mechanical logging and tree thinning as well as the creation of community fireguards to help reduce the impacts of wildfire and climate change. “While we can never completely eliminate the risk of wildfire, Parks Canada is taking important steps to reduce that risk across the mountain national parks using safe and effective fire management,” Fay said. “Our agency is taking action to create healthy fire-resilient landscapes and communities.”

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Wildfire Resiliency and Training Summit

British Columbia FireSmart
January 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

On April 12-16, more than 700 firefighting professionals, FireSmart experts and Indigenous, municipal and community leaders will gather in Penticton for the 2025 Wildfire Resiliency and Training Summit. There, they’ll share lessons learned from 2024, along with the latest research, technologies, best practices and other information to help regions and communities prepare for the upcoming wildfire season. You’ll want to register fast before this conference sells out! The theme for this year’s Summit is Living with Fire: Building resilience by bringing fire back to the land, strengthening relationships, and investing in collective well-being. The Summit will kick off with two days of training for firefighting professionals, followed by a three-day conference featuring keynote addresses, expert panels, and networking opportunities. Whether you’re a firefighter, community leader, or industry professional, this event is your chance to connect with like-minded individuals, learn from experts, and contribute to a safer, more resilient future for British Columbia. 

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Intact watershed near Castlegar should not be logged, advocates say

By Bill Metcalfe
Terrace Standard
January 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The lawyer for a West Kootenay environmental organization has sent a formal cease-and-desist letter to BC Timber Sales, requesting that the agency drop its plans to log a piece of forest near Castlegar. The contested cutblock is located in the Cai Creek drainage.  “It is a biodiverse forest full of old growth trees, and B.C. Timber Sales’ logging plans would irreversibly disrupt this forest,” says Joe Karthein of the Save What’s Left Conservation Society. Biologist Matt Casselman of Castlegar is pushing to save the same forest through his website entitled Save Cai Creek. …BCTS has laid out three cutblocks in the Cai Creek drainage, but it is specifically Cutblock 3 that Casselman and Karthein are concerned about. They say Cutblock 3 may not be fully an old growth forest but it has some old growth in it. It is valuable for being an 80-per-cent intact watershed, which Casselman says is rare.

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Alberta completes fireguard near Canmore, looks ahead to 2025 wildfire season

By Lauryn Heintz
CityNews Calgary
January 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Alberta says a provincial Community Fireguard Program is mitigating the risks of catastrophic wildfires in at-risk communities. It will increase wildfire resilience in Canmore and the Bow Valley, according to the province. By removing trees surrounding vulnerable communities that can act as fuel in wildfires, residents, homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure are better protected in the case of a blaze. Alberta says construction on the new Bow Valley Community Fireguard started in the late fall of 2024, after it got $750,000 in provincial funding from the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta. …Work on the fireguard will be ongoing, including a combination of mechanical tree removal and forest thinning. The entire fireguard will be finished over the next three to five years, and planning is underway for the next stage of construction… Ahead of the 2025 wildfire season, the province said it is working on other fireguard initiatives, including in Whitecourt and Hinton.

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West Boundary gets a look at state of Community Forest

By Karen McKinley
Grand Forks Gazette
January 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Peter Flett

The current state and future plans of the West Boundary Community Forest was available at an annual public meeting held on Thursday at the McCarthur Centre in Greenwood. Forest Manager Peter Flett and Ally Macmaster, Communications and Outdoor Education Centre Coordinator led the talk that ranged from a general overview, finances, revenue, funding, harvesting, wildfire mitigation efforts and even the Outdoor Education Centre that officially opened last summer. The purpose of the meeting, said Flett, was to let the public know what’s been accomplished in the community forest, completed projects, planned cutting and wildfire mitigation and try to answer any questions people may have about the operation. …Revenue from lumber harvested from the Community Forest totalled $400,000, which was split evenly between Midway and Greenwood, as joint shareholder communities. The Community Forest supports grants and bursaries, which totalled $112,020 in grants to 41 different groups and organizations, explained Macmaster. 

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Valemount Community Forest gets “wake-up call” in recent audit

By Abigail Popple
The Rocky Mountain Goat
January 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The BC Forest Practices Board (BCFPB) found five significant non-compliances in the Valemount Community Forest (VCF) audit released on December 17th, including two non-compliances in wildfire prevention measures. VCF is taking steps to establish more thorough training and pre-work planning to avoid similar oversights in the future, according to General Manager Kalina Velez. …While forestry is a complex industry and any given operation may have a handful of issues, the number of non-compliances found in VCF’s operations were alarming, said BCFPB Chair Keith Atkinson. …“It’s a wake-up call for us,” Velez said of the audit. …Now that Velez is at the helm, she has turned her focus towards drafting and revising policies that will improve the VCF’s practices in the long term. …Velez hopes that providing more thorough training and inviting questions and feedback from contractors will improve their practices without having to turn to punitive measures.

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Uncertain harvest: Despite recent wildfires, B.C. tree planting is set to plummet

By Stefan Labbé
Victoria Times Colonist
January 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The provincial government expects to plant nearly 50 million fewer trees this year — a 17 per cent drop from last year’s planting season at a time when the province has seen a major spike in wildfire activity. The projections come from presentation slides shown to the ­industry in September. …the government expects the number of trees planted to sink to 233 million in 2025, 47 million fewer than were planted in 2024. …About half of the anticipated drop in 2025 is due to declines in trees planted by logging companies. Drops are also expected in government programs designed to combat climate change, restore forest carbon stocks, and plant trees in the wake of wildfires, data show. The 2023 wildfires also prevented many replanting projects from occurring that year, and delays due to the time it takes to grow enough seedlings mean replanting won’t take place until 2026 and 2027, according to the ministry spokesperson. 

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B.C. salmon summits uncover concerns of climate, deforestation, volunteer decline

By Ruth Lloyd
Cowichan Valley Citizen
January 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

An aging volunteer base on top of climate change and deforestation concerns dominated the early returns of a probe into the state of B.C. salmon. Researchers provided some key findings on the project in December, based on Pacific salmon dialogues held across B.C. last year, led by the University of British Columbia and the Pacific Salmon Foundation, and partially funded by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). …They said stakeholders told them the compound effects of hotter, drier summers, combined with higher water levels in the winter should be looked at. Meeting attendees brought up the cumulative impacts of deforestation, due to both wildfire and forestry practices, on salmon spawning and rearing habitat. …The full report will be posted and shared out publicly on the project website once the project is completed, which is expected by March 2025.

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B.C. has five years left to meet its 30×30 conservation target. Can it be done?

By Tiffany Crawford
The Vancouver Sun
January 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Kaska Dena people, who for thousands of years have lived on a vast swath of intact wilderness in northern B.C. on the Yukon border… They want to ensure it remains undeveloped… So the Kaska have come up with a plan for the province to protect an area, called the Dene K’éh Kusān — 40,000 square kilometres, an area larger than Vancouver Island, of land and water. …It would also boost B.C.’s pledge to protect 30 per cent of land and 30 per cent of water by 2030, say conservation experts. …With only five years to go, and just about 16 per cent of land protected in B.C. so far, the province must double its efforts if it intends to reach those ambitious targets…Randene Neill, B.C.’s minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship said that she’s aware that some areas reported as conservation measures aren’t meeting their originally intended objectives. 

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Integrity Reforestation and Agoke Development LP Launch Major Initiative to Restore Wildfire-Impacted Land and Caribou Habitat in Ontario’s Ogoki Forest

By Integrity Reforestation Inc.
Business Wire
January 15, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

TORONTO — We are proud to announce the launch of a major reforestation project to plant 3 million trees in the Ogoki Forest, a region 400 km northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario devastated by catastrophic wildfires of 2023. This initiative marks a pivotal step in restoring a landscape critical to both ecological health and the cultural heritage of local First Nations communities. In 2023, two massive wildfires ravaged 40,188 hectares of the Ogoki Forest, leaving behind widespread ecological damage. The Ogoki Wildfire Reforestation Project aims to heal these scars by focusing reforestation efforts on the most severely affected areas. …A cornerstone of this initiative is the restoration of critical caribou habitat. The Ogoki Forest is home to two vital caribou ranges, the Nipigon and the Ozhiski, that were heavily impacted by the wildfires. …This project is driven by the support of Forests Canada, Tree Canada, and the Arbor Day Foundation, Chilly Moose Ltd., and Orca Intelligence Inc. 

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Government of Canada Invests in the Reforestation of Wildfire-Affected Areas in Northern Ontario

By Natural Resources Canada
Government of Canada
January 15, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

OTTAWA, ON – Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced an investment of more than $900,000 to Integrity Reforestation for a major reforestation project that will help to restore wildfire-impacted land and caribou habitat in Ontario’s Ogoki Forest. With this funding, Integrity Reforestation will: plant 800,000 trees, covering 450 hectares of the Ogoki Forest; rehabilitate ecosystems destroyed by wildfires using native species to restore the habitats of woodland caribou, moose and black bears; and create over 40 tree-planting jobs in the region. With this agreement, Canada and Integrity Reforestation are leveraging their shared commitment to habitat restoration and climate action. Canada will continue to work with provinces, territories, local communities, organizations and Indigenous Peoples to create a greener, healthier and more resilient Canada while reinforcing our country’s ability to respond to wildfires, especially in the face of changing climate.

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Dr. John Kershaw honoured for a lifetime of measuring forests and mentoring minds

By the University of New Brunswick
Education News Canada
January 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

John Kershaw (left)

New Brunswick — Dr. John Kershaw didn’t plan a career in forestry when, as a young man, he left the family farm in southern Indiana to study at Purdue University. He wanted to be a veterinarian. However, a summer experience in Colorado during his first year at Purdue sparked his forestry interest, leading him to switch majors and embark on a journey that would take him around the world. …After over three decades of research, teaching and pursuing international partnerships, Kershaw has been recognized with a prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from his alma mater, which will be presented in April. Kershaw, a professor at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) since 1991, was caught off guard when he received the news of the award. …Kershaw is deeply engaged as the assistant vice president for partnerships at UNB … he has worked to diversify the university’s international pathways and build strong partnerships with other universities worldwide.

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In the National Parks, Fire Crews Do More Than Fight Fires

By Cameron Walker
The Atlas Obscura
January 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

In September 2020, as crews outside Yosemite National Park worked to contain the oncoming Creek Fire and evacuate those in its path, archaeologist Jennie Leonard was racing to protect something that couldn’t leave: the giant sequoias in the Mariposa Grove. Leonard and her fellow resource advisors—who protect species, cultural items, and other resources from wildfire and fire-suppression activities—covered the bases of the ancient trees with structure wrap, a fire-resistant aluminum fabric. Each tree, Leonard recalled, “looked like a baked potato.” Advisors offer suggestions, not commands, but they learn to quickly identify how to protect resources in a variety of circumstances. On one fire, they might help position a fire crew campsite so that firefighters won’t haul gear through invasive weeds and accidentally spread seeds. On another, they might indicate where a bulldozer can safely construct a fireline to prevent erosion into a salmon-rich stream.

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New National Tree Canopy Assessment Tool Now Live

Accesswire Press Release
January 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

A national tree canopy assessment tool is now available for the first time, making it possible for cities to view the status of their local and regional tree canopy and how it’s changed over time… The national tree canopy assessment will help community leaders to assess tree loss and prioritize tree planting projects in areas of need, utilizing high-resolution aerial imagery. Users can view land cover statistics, development patterns, and individual tree canopies, all summarized down to the census block group. This interactive resource is available at TreesAtWork.org. More resources, data and information will be added to the website in 2025, including a downloadable National Baseline Canopy Assessment Report detailing the state of tree canopy in urban areas across the country and in-depth reporting on the impact of strategic investments in trees in cities nationwide.

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Four-legged influencers in Alaska take the Internet by storm

By Riley Stadt
USDA Forest Service
January 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The Tongass National Forest’s annual Anan Bear Awards showcased the now viral black and brown bears’ range of talents from a brown bear’s expert fishing skills winning “Fishing in Style,” to a black bear’s lack thereof being awarded “Slippery Paws.” One of the four-legged influencers, a cub that was not quite ready to claim expert hunting abilities, received 2.1 million views after winning the “Nope” award! The idea for the Anan Bear Awards originated on a whiteboard in 2022, after staff at the observatory were inspired by the National Park Service’s Fat Bear Week. Enter Forest Service Forestry Technician Jennifer Kardiak, who wanted to celebrate all aspects of the Anan bears, not just their figures.

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The Nez Perce Clearwater National Forest plan cuts wildland protections

By Laura Lundquist
The Missoula Current
January 15, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The Nez Perce Clearwater National Forest has published a multi-decade forest plan that favors logging and motorized and mechanized recreation. Last week, the acting Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest supervisor, Heath Perrine, signed off on a final version of the forest plan that will guide projects on the national forest for at least the next 20 years. The previous forest plans for the Nez Perce and Clearwater Forests were separately written in the late-1980s. After decades went by and the two forests were combined in 2013 due to budget cuts … a new management plan was needed for a forest that now covers 4 million acres and seven counties in Idaho. However, the process the Nez Perce-Clearwater Forest used to produce the plan has been somewhat unorthodox, from having an acting supervisor, who was in the job for six months, make the decision to choose an alternative that wasn’t originally defined in the draft environmental study. 

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In the wake of L.A.-area fires, Congress will consider new measures. Here are some of them

By Faith Pinho
The Los Angeles Times
January 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

WASHINGTON — a first wave of bills has been put forward by Republicans and Democrats alike in response to the devastation in Los Angeles. The measures come as President Biden has pledged 100% federal backing for disaster assistance for the next six months, though with President-elect Donald Trump taking office in less than a week, the future of the funding is not completely secured. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), meanwhile, has said … he is discussing  whether to link aid to the deeply political debate over increasing the debt ceiling. 

  • The Fix Our Forests Act would streamline environmental regulations to make forest management happen faster
  • Rep. Darrell Issa introduced legislation he called Direct Hire to Fight Fire
  • The Preventing Our Next Natural Disaster Act calls for changes to how FEMA prepares for disasters
  • Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) plans to introduce legislation to rein in California’s Coastal Commission. 

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Missoula County, partners seek reboot of regional timber industry

By Martin Kidston
The Missoula Current
January 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

MONTANA — The recent collapse of western Montana’s timber industry did more than eliminate jobs, it also left Missoula County and various management agencies with one less tool to manage area forests. But county commissioners on Monday joined officials with the Bureau of Land Management and the Blackfoot Challenge to explore ways to revitalize the region’s timber industry. If the industry is going to reemerge, it will need to do so under a new model, they said. “There’s an acknowledgment that industry is a partner when you look at the millions of acres of federal land, as well as the private forested land and state land,” said Erin Carey, with the BLM. “When you look at the restoration needs across millions of acres in western Montana, we cannot accomplish those restoration outcomes without industry.” ….Forest restoration could be an industry in itself, along with the creation of new products like cross-laminated timber.

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Small airborne embers play a big role in the spread of wildfires

By Holly Ramer
Associated Press
January 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

While authorities still don’t know what sparked the deadly fires in the Los Angeles area, they do know one clear way the flames have spread: embers. …The flames have been fueled by strong winds, which not only aid combustion by increasing the oxygen supply but carry embers to unburned areas. Contrary to popular belief, experts say most homes destroyed by wildfires aren’t overcome by a racing wall of flames, but rather burn after being ignited by airborne embers. Here’s a look at what embers are and the role they play in wildfires. …the embers involved in wildfires are drastically different from campfires, said Anne Cope, chief engineer at the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety. “Those embers can travel for miles, and it’s often the neighborhoods that are closer to the wildlands that get inundated with just loads and loads — just showered with embers,” she said.

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Researchers Awarded National Science Foundation Grant for Next-Generation Forest Mapping and Monitoring

By Kimberly Mann Bruch
University of California, San Diego
January 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Researchers at the University of California San Diego, University of Florida and Arizona State University have been awarded $3.28 million from the U.S. National Science Foundation to build OpenForest4D – a web-based cyberinfrastructure platform for next-generation 4D forest mapping and monitoring. The project’s goal is to advance the mapping and monitoring of global forest ecosystems by fusing the most up-to-date, multi-source remote sensing data and novel artificial intelligence models to generate research-grade estimates of forest structure and above-ground biomass across a range of timescales. …Previously these sorts of calculations were limited to research professionals with advanced expertise. By providing these cyberinfrastructure services via an easily accessible and user-friendly science gateway, users of all expertise levels can now access advanced forestry analysis tools regardless of their technical skill level, democratizing scientific computing and enabling on-demand generation of forestry-related products. 

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Fire officials stress climate’s role over forest management in preventing California blazes

By Jeannie Nguyen
ABC News 10
January 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Adrienne Freeman

CALIFORNIA, USA — Firefighters in Los Angeles, are fighting misinformation as people claim these fires could have been prevented with forest management. However, experts say there’s much more to minimizing fire risks than just prescribed burns. In an effort to curb wildfires, California aims to treat a million acres of land in the state each year. …ABC10 asked if anything could have been done to prevent the spread of the Southern California fires. “There’s nothing. The conditions that we saw in Southern California last Tuesday were in above the 99.99th percentile of severity,” Adrienne Freeman, with USFS said. …”Even a large scale fire break probably wouldn’t have been effective in keeping the wildfire out of the communities. And once the communities are burning, the spread is from home to home, and it doesn’t really have anything to do with the forest management,” said Chris Field, with Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment.

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Why it matters that Oregon just lost its chief forester

By April Ehrlich
Oregon Public Broadcasting
January 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Calvin Mukumoto

The resignation of Oregon’s top forestry executive last week comes at a pivotal moment for environmental policies in the state. Lawmakers are a week away from convening a legislative session that’s expected to tackle Oregon’s critical wildfire funding issues. And forestry officials are scrambling to finalize two major overhauls to endangered species protections on public and private lands… The state forester has long been a highly political role, juggling policy input from Oregon’s robust timber industry, timber-dependent counties and environmental advocates. “There’s nothing about the job that is easy,” said Board of Forestry chair Jim Kelly… But for many, state forester Cal Mukumoto’s resignation didn’t come as a surprise, even for Mukumoto himself. “Without the confidence of the Legislature and the governor’s office, I think it didn’t leave me many options but to resign,” Mukumoto said.

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Firefighting planes are dumping ocean water on the Los Angeles fires − why using saltwater is typically a last resort

By Patrick Megonigal
The Conversation
January 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Firefighters battling the deadly wildfires that raced through the Los Angeles area in January 2025 have been hampered by a limited supply of freshwater. So, when the winds are calm enough, skilled pilots flying planes aptly named Super Scoopers are skimming off 1,500 gallons of seawater at a time and dumping it with high precision on the fires. Using seawater to fight fires can sound like a simple solution – but seawater also has downsides… A novel experiment called TEMPEST was designed to understand how and why historically salt-free coastal forests react to their first exposures to salty water… Our research group is still trying to understand all the factors that limit the forest’s tolerance to salty water, and how our results apply to other ecosystems such as those in the Los Angeles area. Tree leaves turning from green to brown well before fall was a surprise, but there were other surprises hidden in the soil below our feet.

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Washington State Department of Natural Resources Forest Legacy Program reaches 200,000 acre milestone in conserving threatened private forests

Washington State Department of Natural Resources
January 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently reached a milestone of protecting more than 200,000 acres of private forests threatened by development through the U.S. Forest Service Forest Legacy Program. Over the last year, DNR almost doubled the acres conserved since 1993 when DNR began participating. Washington secured $99,335,000 in funding from the U.S. Forest Service through the Inflation Reduction Act in 2024. “Washington has continued to be a leader in securing funding from the Forest Legacy program, protecting thousands of acres of privately owned forests that could have easily been turned into strip malls and housing developments,” said Hilary Franz, Commissioner of Public Lands for Washington State. “With increasing population growth putting pressure on our forestlands, this program is critical to helping private landowners keep their lands in forestry, ensuring local jobs and wood products, providing public access and recreation, and protecting environmental benefits from clean air and water to critical fish and wildlife habitat.”

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Why Oregon lawmakers are asking Elon Musk to stop plan to kill 450,000 barred owls

By Ginnie Sandoval
Salem Statesman Journal
January 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Four Oregon lawmakers are calling on Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to help stop a plan that would kill 450,000 barred owls in an effort to save endangered spotted owls over the next 30 years. …In a letter sent Tuesday, state Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Stayton, Rep. David Gomberg, D-Lincoln County, Rep. Virgle Osborne, R-Roseburg, and Sen.-elect Bruce Starr, R-Yamhill and Polk counties, asked the incoming Trump administration officials to stop the reportedly more than $1 billion project, calling it a “budget buster” and “impractical.” …Here is why the Oregon lawmakers are opposed to the plan, what the plan would do and why it is controversial. …“As wildlife professionals, we approached this issue carefully and did not come to this decision lightly,” USFWS Oregon State Supervisor Kessina Lee said in announcing the decision in August.

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The Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest Plan to be Released Friday

By Eric Barker
The Lewiston Tribune
January 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

IDAHO – The Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest said it will finalize and release the long-awaited revision of its governing plan Friday. For more than two decades, Forest Service employees have been working on updating the document known as a forest plan. It was written in 1987 and designed to last about 15 years. Over that time the agency has started, scrapped and restarted the effort several times, often based on shifting federal rules governing the process. A final draft of the plan was released in the fall of 2023. While the finalized plan won’t be available until Friday, it is not expected to be dramatically different from the draft. …Conservation groups panned the draft plan because it dramatically reduced streams and rivers that would be recommended for protection under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers act from more than 80 to just 11.

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Biden administration endorses plan to kill barred owls on federal land, as Oregon lawmakers push back

By Courtney Sherwood
Oregon Public Broadcasting
January 8, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The Biden administration appears to be doubling down on a plan to kill barred owls in order to protect the northern spotted owl populations in Northwest forests. But a group of bipartisan Oregon legislators… are calling on the incoming Trump administration’s proposed Department of Government Efficiency to reverse the decision. Two years ago, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a plan to shoot and kill an estimated 400,000 invasive barred owls at a cost of roughly $1.35 billion over the next three decades. On Wednesday, the Bureau of Land Management said it’s signing on to that plan, too. …“This simply isn’t a sound strategy — fiscally or ecologically,” Oregon state Rep. David Gomberg, D-Otis, said. …Gomberg joined four Republican Oregon lawmakers on Wednesday to issue a bipartisan call to the next president. They asked Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to nix plans for culling barred owls in Northwest forests.

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How Red Tape Strangled California Forest Management Before LA Fires

By Katherine Fung
Newsweek
January 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

As wildfires continue to burn out of control across Los Angeles, questions have turned to why and how California authorities allowed the perfect conditions — extremely dry, uncleared forests, hillsides and brush — to proliferate during an already dangerous fire season made worse by a Santa Ana wind event that hits the area with relative frequency. Well before those dangerous conditions sparked the massive blazes… this week, the region was already a tinderbox due, in part, to a lack of prescribed fires. …The reason California hasn’t conducted more controlled burnings comes down to existing environmental laws in the U.S. that have posed bureaucratic obstacles to prescribed fires. It often takes years for proposals to go through reviews before any controlled burning can take place. …Lawmakers have introduced legislation that would allow for more controlled burning, but because no laws have been passed, environmental red tape has continued to present challenges to proactive fire management.

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National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Announces $2.2 Million to Benefit Wildlife and Restore Habitat in Central Appalachia

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
January 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and partners today announced $2.2 million in grants to reforest legacy mine lands, improve forest habitat management for birds, implement riparian buffers on agricultural lands and restore aquatic connectivity in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. The grants will generate $1.9 million in matching contributions for a total conservation impact of $4.1 million. The grants were awarded through the Central Appalachia Habitat Stewardship Program…. Central Appalachia boasts some of the most biologically diverse forests and aquatic systems in the United States. The projects announced today will plant more than 164,000 native trees, restore 16 miles of streamside forest, remove nine barriers to fish passage, and propagate and release more than 97,000 freshwater mussels into their historic habitat. This work will also benefit declining populations of forest birds, including the golden-winged warbler, wood thrush and cerulean warbler.

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Helene did nearly $200 million in damage to South Carolina forests, report says

By Shaun Chornobroff
South Carolina Daily Gazette
January 15, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

Helene, the state’s deadliest storm, caused roughly $200 million in estimated damage to the state’s forest industry, the South Carolina Forestry Commission said in a report presented to the House Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee. The report estimated $83 million in timber damage and $60 million in damage to forests in and near cities. But that damage could be much higher, said Russell Hubright, the commission’s forest management chief. The report also estimated a $51 million hit to businesses that rely on the state’s forests, including logging and paper mills, which contribute $23 billion to the state economy, according to the commission. …There are 12.8 million acres of forestland in South Carolina, with more than 11 million of those privately owned, according to the State Forestry Commission. …The report estimated that nearly 234,000 acres of land incurred timber damage of some kind with more than 70,000 suffering moderate, severe or catastrophic timber damage. 

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Perth homeowners could be paid to plant trees in bid to thicken canopy coverage

By Holly Thompson
The Sydney Mornng Herald
January 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

AUSTRALIA — A new green policy offering cash to plant more natives aims to thicken Perth’s ailing tree canopy. In a bid to turn around Perth’s tree coverage – the worst of all Australian capitals – Labor announced on Tuesday it would plant one million trees across the metropolitan region by 2035 if re-elected in March. The $16.9 million commitment includes a Western Australia-first “treebate”, allowing 10,000 households a year to receive $150 to plant native trees on their property. The “treebates” would be available to all WA residents 18 and over, redeemable via the ServiceWA app, and would help fund the purchase of native trees from WA nurseries and other retailers. …Environment Minister Reece Whitby said the “treebate” would help the state government get Perth’s canopy coverage to 30 per cent by 2040, bringing the city in line with Melbourne’s current coverage and above Adelaide’s.

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War of words erupts over Western Australia’s prescribed burning program

By Sarah Brookes
The Sydney Morning Herald
January 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

AUSTRALIA — A war of words – and glossy brochures – has flared up in the scientific world over whether Western Australia’s major prescribed-burning program across the forests of its south-west is doing more harm than good. The South-West Forests Defence Foundation launched its publication Prescribed Burning Fact Sheets – August 2024 outlining scientific research arguing current prescribed burning practices in the south-west forest regions does not give effective protection from wildfires, is hazardous to people’s health and is causing irreversible loss of biodiversity. The foundation favours a rapid detection and suppression response to bushfires. …In response, the Bushfire Front advocacy group has released its own pamphlet critiquing the foundation’s “flawed” proposal, saying it’s not based on sound science and would have disastrous outcomes in the event of a major bushfire. It states… that the response-only method was trialled and failed in the early 1900s.

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