Category Archives: Forestry

Forestry

Bringing the forest back: Tłı̨chǫ Tree Planting initiative begins

By Lisa Iesse
My True North Now
July 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

It is estimated that 130 million trees in the Tłı̨chǫ region alone were burned in the devastating 2023 fires. An ambitions new reforestation project is taking on a unprecedented initiative to plant over 1 million trees as part of a six-year plan to plant 13 million trees to bring back the forest. The Tłı̨chǫ Government is holding a special opening ceremony tomorrow at the Behchokǫ̀ Culture Centre at 10:00 a.m. in celebration of the launch of their major reforestation project. “This will mark the beginning of the largest reforestation effort ever undertaken in the Northwest Territories,” said Paul Cressman, who is working with the Tłı̨chǫ government on the new reforestation project. Over the summer, 1.4 million trees will be planted around Behchokǫ̀, Russell Lake, and James Lake. Using locally harvested seeds, the tree planting is “the first step” in a six-year plan to plant 13 million trees across Tłı̨chǫ lands.

Read More

What to know about the fires dotting the western U.S. and Canada

By Ian Livingston
The Washington Post
July 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, United States

Hundreds of wildfires are burning across the Western states, Alaska and Canada as fire season perks up amid a sprawling heat wave and widespread dry conditions. …Fires are being fueled by widespread high temperatures and dry conditions. …The preparedness level is at 4 out of 5 for the U.S., and 5 out of 5 in Canada. Intense fire behavior was reported in 10 western US states over recent days in regions afflicted by heat and drought. …Alaska has seen major wildfire activity over the past week, with more than 300,000 of the 750,000 acres burned this year going up in flames, according to the Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection. …After a bit of a lull in firestorms in late June to early July, Canadian wildfires returned in a big way. More than 350 fires are burning out of control across the western two-thirds of the nation. Among the most concerning fires flaring, many are in Manitoba. [A Washington Post subscription is required for full access to this story]

Read More

Australia NSW Forestry Corporation firefighters join international Canada deployment

By Forestry Corporation of New South Wales
Australian Rural & Regional News
July 15, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, International

Forestry Corporation firefighters from Tumut and Deniliquin will deploy to Canada this week to reinforce local and international crews battling ongoing wildfires, where close to five million hectares have been burnt, approximately 150 wildfires remain active, and multiple communities have been evacuated. Forestry Corporation’s Linda Cotterill of Tumut will deploy to the position of Divisional Supervisor in Alberta and Peter O’Toole of Deniliquin will deploy as an Incident Management Team Safety Officer in Manitoba. The firefighters will be based in Canada for four weeks, working in challenging conditions. …The deployment follows a formal request for assistance through international firefighting agreements and highlights the strong collaboration between Australia and Canada in emergency response. It is the third Forestry Corporation deployment to Canada this winter, with eight Forestry Corporation staff deployed in June and currently completing month-long deployments.

Read More

Republicans complain about smoke. But they voted for fire

By Chris Hatch
The National Observer
July 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, United States

It had to be a joke, right? A group of MAGA lawmakers moaning about “suffocating Canadian wildfire smoke”. …But, no. …It makes no mention of the tens of thousands of Canadians forced to evacuate this year or those who have died. The signatories conveniently ignore the fact that smoke from the US side of the border regularly smothers those of us who live north of it. In fact, the complaint does not mention fires in the US at all, even though more than two million acres have burned so far this year, and Canadian firefighters have deployed to assist their US colleagues, just as US wildland firefighters have been helping in Canada. Given the MAGA credentials of the complainants, you may not be surprised to hear their complaint blames a “lack of active forest management”… admonishes Canada for not preventing arson and makes no mention of climate change whatsoever.

Related by Marc Fawcett-Atkinson in the National Observer: Canadian far right repeats conspiracy theories on wildfires

Read More

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

Read More

Fears of a massive fish die-off in Cowichan River if conditions don’t improve

By Michael John Lo
The Peak
July 15, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Warm temperatures, low river flows and declining water quality are sparking fears of another mass fish die-off in the Cowichan River this summer. The Cowichan Watershed Board said river conditions this summer “mirror” those of 2023, when an estimated 84,000 to 100,000-plus fish died after prolonged drought and heat. Samples recently collected from six points along the Cowichan River show the water is seeing significant daily fluctuations in pH and dissolved oxygen levels similar to those of 2023. …Weir flows were reduced this spring so more water could be maintained in the summer. Researchers are also looking to identify, protect and improve cold-water refuge areas along the river that could provide fish a respite from the heat when waters warm. …Built in the 1950s to provide water for the pulp mill at Crofton, the Cowichan weir is owned and operated by Domtar.

Read More

The Digital Forester – Domenico Iannidinardo & Aaron Fujikawa, SNRgroup

By Kevin Lim, CEO, Remsoft
The Digital Forester
July 15, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Domenico Iannidinardo, CEO, and Aaron Fujikawa, Director of Remote Sensing & Geomatics at Strategic Natural Resource Group, join us on The Digital Forester podcast. Domenico and Aaron share how their very different paths — one rooted in traditional forestry, the other in GIS and tech — led them to Strategic Natural Resource Group, a company at the intersection of boots-on-the-ground operations and cutting-edge digital forestry. From firefighting to LiDAR, and field data collection to building digital twins, this episode highlights how Strategic is helping clients navigate uncertainty with speed, precision, and deep local knowledge. Come have a listen to how a field-first culture, Indigenous ownership, and relentless curiosity are shaping the future of resource management in British Columbia and beyond.

Read More

Vancouver tech firm aims to help forests bounce back stronger after wildfires

By Daisy Xiong
Business in Vancouver
July 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

With the wildfire season intensifying in recent years, post-wildfire restoration has become increasingly critical. A Vancouver tech company drawing investor attention says it has an answer for not only replanting trees, but helping to rebuild forests that are more resilient to future fires. Veritree Technology Inc. is a platform that uses ecological data and monitoring tools to support tree planting, tracking and reporting. “Today, areas that historically wouldn’t have burned from wildfires are actually burning much hotter. At times, that burns the seed stock that would otherwise naturally regenerate after a wildfire,” said Derrick Emsley, CEO and co-founder of Veritree. He said that without intervention, deciduous species could grow back fast, crowding out the chance for a mature, healthy natural forest to regenerate, which leaves the area more vulnerable to wildfires in the future.

Read More

North Cowichan mayor meets with counterparts to promote BC lumber

By Justin Baumgardner
My Cowichan Valley Now
July 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Even as the curtailment at the Chemainus Sawmill continues, North Cowichan’s mayor says the municipality is looking to strengthen the local economy by supporting good jobs. According to Rob Douglas, a meeting between MP Jeff Kibble and senior members of Western Forest Products was conducted to determine the best avenue to strengthen the local industry and protect good, local, family-supporting jobs in the region. Douglas says the industry is not in the municipality’s jurisdiction, but all levels of government have an important role to play in establishing a new agreement to grow the economy. “While forestry policy largely falls under provincial jurisdiction, the federal government has a critical role to play, whether through negotiating a renewed softwood lumber agreement with the United States, or by ensuring that lumber produced in BC is prioritized in Canada,” he says.

Read More

BC Forest Practices Board to audit forestry operations near Merritt

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

VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will conduct a full-scope compliance audit of B.C. Timber Sales and Timber Sale Licence holders in the Cascades Natural Resource District, starting Monday, July 21, 2025. The audit will examine harvesting, roads, silviculture and associated planning under the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act. B.C. Timber Sales and licensees operate throughout the district, from the American border south of Princeton to the Chilcotin ranges north of Lillooet. Once the audit is complete, a report will be prepared. Any party that may be adversely affected by the audit findings will have a chance to respond. The board’s final report and recommendations will be released to the public and provincial government. The Cascades Natural Resource District includes the Cascade mountains and the Thompson Plateau. This district transitions from coastal to continental climates. 

Read More

How a tree-killing beetle chose wrong human to fly into, revealing presence in B.C.

By Brenna Owen
The Canadian Press in the Vancouver Sun
July 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The tiny beetle could scarcely have picked a worse human to fly into. Amateur entomologist Andrew Short was sitting on a bench in downtown Vancouver in June 2023 when the unfamiliar metallic green beetle hit him and fell to the ground. He said he “needed to know what it was,” so he captured it, took it home to photograph, and later handed it over to authorities — who confirmed the insect to be the first emerald ash borer collected in Canada west of Manitoba. Short’s fortuitous encounter set in motion a chain reaction of research aimed at understanding and clamping down on the pest that has devastated ash forests across North America, killing millions of trees in Canada and the United States. …Short makes a hobby of searching for insects and plants, examining how they interact and photographing them. …The findings in Vancouver suggest there may be other undetected populations in western North America, the study says.

Read More

Nearly one-third of forests in northeast B.C. could burn by year’s end: province

By Shaurya Kshatri
CBC News
July 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

©Govt of BC

Nearly 30 per cent of the forested land base in the Prince George Fire Centre, which covers B.C.’s northeast, is likely to burn by the end of this year, according to the province. Forest Minister Ravi Parmar says the region has already seen nearly 7,000 square kilometres burned by wildfires since June. That’s by far the most of any of B.C.’s six fire centres, with the second highest being the Northwest Fire Centre, where just under 40 square kilometres have burned. …Over the past two fire seasons the province says wildfires have burned more forest area in the region than in the previous 60 years combined, for a total of 10 per cent of the region’s land are. … region has witnessed some of the province’s most destructive wildfires, including the 2023 Donnie Creek wildfire, the largest recorded in B.C.’s history.

Read More

UBC Faculty of Forestry 2025 Fall Micro-Certificate Programs

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

Registration is now open for UBC Forestry’s Fall 2025 online micro-certificate programs. Designed for flexible learning and career growth, these short programs—taught by industry experts—help you build specialized skills in nine weeks or less and earn digital badges to showcase your expertise. Program themes include Natural Resource Management, Bioeconomy and Mass Timber Building. Eligible British Columbia residents can take advantage of the StrongerBC future skills grant which provides up to $3,500 for most of our micro-certificate programs.

Read More

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.

Read More

‘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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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…

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

Experimental forest in Idaho can’t maintain all its science during Trump freeze

By Michael Wright
Idaho Statesman
July 15, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Each day, as afternoon turns into evening, the U.S. Forest Service research staffer based at the experimental forest there walks over to the weather station next to the office and looks at two thermometers — one showing the day’s maximum temperature, the other showing the minimum. They record the readings and add them to the station’s long-term dataset, which stretches back to 1913. …And the U.S. Forest Service, which manages the site, can’t fill the role permanently because of the federal government’s continued hiring freeze, which has been extended to October. …But there will be no full-time research staff there, forcing the discontinuation of a handful of long-term data collection efforts — such as the daily weather readings, regular streamflow monitoring and a weekly acid rain sample that’s part of the National Atmospheric Deposition Program.

Read More

Oregon Department of State Lands gets new leader in scientist and lawyer Kaitlin Lovell

Oregon Public Broadcasting
July 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Kaitlin Lovell

A lawyer, scientist and former manager at the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services will become the new director of the Department of State Lands. Kaitlin Lovell of Colton, Oregon, begins her four-year term as the agency’s leader in early August. She’ll be in charge of managing more than 130 staff in Bend and Salem, a budget of more than $116 million, and roughly 680,000 acres of state-owned land. …The agency is in charge of managing the state’s agricultural, industrial and residential lands for conservation, development and revenue generation for the benefit of Oregon’s public schools. The agency also administers mineral and energy rights on more than 768,500 acres statewide. …Lovell spent most of the last 18 years working for Portland’s environmental services and regulatory agency, and was most recently its Regulatory Strategy Manager, in charge of financial planning for its wastewater and stormwater management services.

See Government Press Release

Read More

Colorado politicians introduce legislation to support forest and grassland restoration

By Abby Smith
KRDO News
July 15, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Colorado Senator Michael Bennet and Representative Joe Neguse, along with other politicians, introduced the Joint Chiefs Reauthorization Act. This legislation would reauthorize the program to better support forest and grassland restoration projects on both public and private lands. “Our Western forests, grasslands, and watersheds are as important to our economy as the Lincoln Tunnel is to New York, but they are under threat from a changing climate and consistent federal underinvestment,” said Bennet. …Bennet mentioned that strengthening the program will ensure that restoring landscapes, protecting water supplies, and reducing wildfire risks can continue for future generations. “Western and Northern Colorado are all too familiar with the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires,” said Neguse.

Read More

Could Trump’s tariffs bring back the Pacific Northwest lumberjack?

By Joshua McNichols
KUOW News and Information
July 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Could President Donald Trump’s strategies help revive Washington’s diminished timber industry? For nearly a century, Washington’s timber industry produced everything from paper and two-by-fours to the massive wood beams that hold up the Tacoma Dome. Lumber mills were the backbone of logging towns throughout the Northwest. But the industry has been on a long decline since the 1990s. Now, Trump wants to reduce foreign competition and increase US logging to bring back those jobs. To find out whether it could work, KUOW visited a sawmill in Morton, a small town in the foothills of Mount Rainier. …Today, the state has about 100,000 timber-related jobs, including mills. That means Washington has lost about a quarter of its timber jobs in the last thirty years. The loss has been devastating to rural communities built around those sawmills, like Morton, Washington. …The Hampton Mill is still the economic heart of the community today. It’s survived the waves of closures over the years.

Read More

Eastern Oregon’s ancient trees face alarming decline, study finds

By Bobby Corser
KATU News
July 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

A new analysis reveals that many of Eastern Oregon’s ancient trees are dying at an alarming rate. The study, conducted by a team led by James Johnston, an assistant research professor at the University of Oregon, found that between 2012 and 2023, a quarter of trees over 300 years old in roadless areas of the Malheur National Forest had died. Johnston attributed the decline to a combination of drought, insect infestations, and competition with younger trees. “It’s sad to see so many old trees dying,” Johnston said. He emphasized the need for active management to protect these ancient trees, particularly in the dry forests of Eastern and Southern Oregon. The study, published in the journal Forest Ecology and Management, highlights the importance of old-growth trees, which store carbon, provide critical habitat, and help maintain water quality. Johnston’s research, which began a decade ago, involved taking core samples from old-growth trees in unlogged sections of the forest.

Read More

Oregon’s Forestry and Logging Industry: From Planting to Harvest

By Brian Rooney
The Newport News Times
July 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Forests cover more than 30 million of Oregon’s 62 million acres – almost half of the state’s landmass. According to the Oregon Employment Department’s covered employment statistics, forestry and logging’s 681 establishments employed 8,787 workers statewide and added $717 million in payroll to Oregon’s economy in 2024. The Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) estimates logging harvests totaled 3.6 billion board feet in 2022. While much of this timber feeds Oregon’s wood products industry, creating jobs and income, many jobs are also created planting, growing, and harvesting this resource. …The high level of forestry activity in Oregon also creates demand for a support activities industry. …Employment Department projections show that the logging industry in Oregon is expected to lose about 200 jobs, or 5% between 2023 and 2033 partly due to continued mechanization. Other industries within timber production, such as timber tract operations and support activities for forestry do not have published Oregon Employment Department forecasts.

Read More

Forest management is key to supporting the struggling Black Hills timber industry

By Ariana Schumacher
Doransfarmers.com
July 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

SPEARFISH, South Dakota — The Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming are not only a beautiful tourist destination but also a major part of the agricultural industry. Many are working to maintain the important role of forest management as a way of supporting agriculture, economies and public health. Jeremy Dedic, forest partnership coordinator for Wyoming State Forestry said, “It’s not like we’re growing corn, but it’s growing plants, and we can manage that and get our results,” Dedic said. …“Most recently, we’ve had some of our larger operators having to scale back their operations,” said Marcus Warnke, state forester for South Dakota. …“Thinning our forest, giving our trees space so that they have enough water, sunlight and nutrients to be healthy and resilient to fire and bugs,” Pierson said. “Those activities produce logs that we bring to our sawmills and make boards out of for public sale.”

Read More

Resources for Oregon firefighters have restrained early-season wildfires but may not last long

By Tarek Anthony
Oregon Public Broadcasting
July 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Fire season started early in the Northwest. The Rowena fire sparked in early June near The Dalles and destroyed 56 homes in a matter of days. Since then, as dry thunderstorms and lightning continue to start hundreds of wildfires across the state, the Oregon Department of Forestry and Bureau of Land Management say they have been able to stop most fires before they spread. But as the season intensifies nationwide, they are concerned about competition with other Western states for resources like air tankers. …While an aggressive “initial attack” approach is nothing new, Assistant State Fire Management Officer for the Oregon and Washington BLM, Richard Parrish, said having increased resources such as pre-positioned firefighting teams across the state, aerial water tankers and a Blackhawk helicopter crew — the only one in the nation — has made all the difference.

Read More

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.” 

Read More

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.

Read More

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.”

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

Russia’s Timber Industry Faces Shutdowns Amid Sanctions, Strong Ruble and Slumping Demand

The Moscow Times
July 15, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Russia’s timber industry is warning of widespread production shutdowns as the sector reels from Western sanctions, declining demand and a surging ruble that has battered the country’s export competitiveness. …The Russian Association of Organizations and Enterprises of the Pulp and Paper Industry described the current moment as one of the industry’s most difficult periods in modern history. Industry data show that timber harvesting fell 13% in 2024 compared with pre-war levels in 2021, lumber production dropped 11% and plywood output declined 23%. Even pulp production, one of the sector’s more stable outputs, decreased by 3%. Major industry players including Segezha Group and ULK Group have been restructuring loans over the past two years in response to falling output, sliding prices and soaring costs. But the situation has continued to deteriorate, especially within the export-heavy pulp and paper sector. Compounding the problem is the Central Bank’s steep 20% key interest rate along with a hike in the profit tax rate from 20% to 25%.

Read More

How climate change fuels wildfires in Europe

By Kate Abnett
Reuters
July 15, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

BRUSSELS – Wildfires have scorched hotspots in several Mediterranean countries this month, with blazes forcing thousands of people into lockdown in Catalonia in Spain, and encroaching on France’s second-biggest city of Marseille. …European wildfires have burnt 227,000 hectares of land since the beginning of the year – more than double the average for this time of year over the past two decades, according to the EU’s European Forest Fire Information System. …It’s not yet clear if 2025 will be a record year, as that will depend on how the fire season evolves in the coming months. The number of fires in Europe has also surged this year so far, with 1,118 blazes detected as of July 8, versus 716 in the same period last year, EFFIS said. …Scientists say the Mediterranean region’s hotter, drier summers put it at high risk of wildfires. …Climate change exacerbates this risk , by creating hotter and drier background conditions.

Read More

Forest trees and microbes choreograph their hunt for a ‘balanced diet’ under elevated CO2

University of Birmingham
July 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Oak trees change their fine roots and ‘energise’ soil microbes by supplying them with a cocktail of small organic compounds, all to supplement the trees’ supply of essential nutrients when exposed to higher levels of carbon dioxide. Researchers at the unique University of Birmingham Institute of Forest Research’s Free Air CO2 Enrichment (BIFoR-FACE) outdoor forest research facility discovered that trees growing in a CO2-rich atmosphere tactically choreograph in-soil trading of carbon for nutrients through “do it yourself” and “outsourcing” strategies.Perspex-sided root boxes, buried in the forest, allowed scientists at BIFoR-FACE access to the soil and roots below giant ~180 years old English oak trees growing in what is expected to be a mid-21st-century atmosphere; that is, an atmosphere containing over a third more CO2. The trees demonstrated their ability to respond to the change of atmosphere by adjusting multiple carbon investment strategies for sourcing soil nutrients.

Read More

Vigilance essential during current ‘Code Red’ forest fire warning

Teagasc
July 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

The current glorious weather provides an opportunity for all to recreate and enjoy. However, such weather patterns give rise to extreme fire risk. Teagasc Forestry advisors tell us more on the nature of such risks and offer practical advice on mitigating forest fire danger threats. On July 10, 2025, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine issued a Condition Red – Extreme Forest Fire Risk up to Monday July 14. Under such extreme fire risk conditions, any ignition source in dry vegetation will give rise to rapid and unpredictable wildfire development and spread. Such fires can be expected to cover extensive areas and pose extreme difficulties to suppression efforts and may potentially give rise to major emergency scenarios. Such conditions require very high vigilance, particularly in areas with intensive public access and recreational use. …Lighting open fires or barbeques in or around forest areas pose a huge risk and should not occur.

Read More

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.

Read More