Dr. Richard Karban, a trained ecologist and member of the UC Davis Entomology Department… who covers an array of intriguing topics, from “eavesdropping” plants to distinct plant “personalities”, is fully aware of the controversy surrounding his field. But he emphasizes that plant communication isn’t a fantasy; it is a biological response to specific cues. …Decades ago, little was known about it. Today, many researchers, such as Dr. Karban, argue that forests are highly communicative biological networks. These are sophisticated behaviors, but Karban attributes them to evolution and natural selection, not hidden sentience. He cautions against projecting human emotions onto biology, but suggests that to understand plants, we must understand their version of a “Hierarchy of Needs.” …Dr Kathryn Flinn, an ecologist at Baldwin Wallace University, believes that while mycorrhizal networks move resources, this does not mean the tree sending those resources is making a strategic or selfless decision. …Another notion gaining attention is that of a ‘Mother Tree’ recognising family members.
The University of British Columbia Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship will host an online Professional Master’s Panel Discussion and Information Session on January 15, 2026 (10:00–11:00 am PST) via Zoom. The session is designed for prospective graduate students and professionals seeking to deepen technical expertise, strengthen leadership capabilities, and expand industry networks within forestry and environmental management fields. Representatives from four accelerated professional master’s programs will present and answer questions: the Master of Geomatics for Environmental Management, emphasizing geospatial technologies for natural resource planning; the Master of International Forestry, combining experiential learning with applied coursework; the Master of Sustainable Forest Management, focusing on professional land management; and the Master of Urban Forestry Leadership, an interdisciplinary program targeting urban forestry strategy and climate adaptation. Participants will engage directly with program directors, coordinators, and advising staff to assess fit and clarify admissions, curriculum, and career outcomes.
Mosaic Forest Management is moving forward with plans to modernize its access program, following a survey earlier this year. In May, 7,600 respondents “clearly indicated Islanders want well-managed public recreation access,” Mosaic said. To that end, Mosaic hired RC Strategies and Legacy Tourism Group. The two firms will build a stronger system for managing recreation on Mosaic lands, balancing public access with environmental protection, safety, and operational needs. Pilot initiatives are expected to be implemented in 2026. …The upcoming engagement process will include First Nations, users, and community members, [as well as] local and provincial governments to address challenges that private forest landowners cannot resolve independently. …“Mosaic is taking a progressive step that very few private landowners have undertaken at this scale,” said Justin Ellis, Partner at RC Strategies. “We’re excited to help develop a recreation access program that balances great outdoor experiences with the operational and environmental realities of a privately owned working forest.”
Further testing has confirmed that a sample submitted from a male white-tailed deer harvested east of Enderby is negative for chronic wasting disease (CWD). CWD is an infectious and fatal disease affecting cervids, including deer, elk, moose and caribou. The initial screening test by the B.C. Animal Health Centre showed a “non-negative” finding for the sample, meaning the disease could not be definitively ruled out and required more testing. Following standard protocol, the sample was sent to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency reference laboratory for confirmatory testing. The laboratory conducted confirmatory testing using three different methods. All results were negative for CWD.
I have great sympathy for mill workers in Crofton and Chemainus and the other 43 mills in towns throughout B.C. that have closed because there is “insufficient viable fibre supply.” This statement is smoke to hide the fact that the companies, with the complicity of the province, have over-harvested the forest since at least the 1970s. Second-growth trees are not as voluminous as virgin timber. Second-growth is harvested in a last gasp to get as much profit from the woods before shuttering mills due to “insufficient viable fibre supply”. The forest sector has made high profits and paid tariffs and softwood lumber duties since the 1980s, and now that the merchantable timber is gone, the blame is being transferred. …This situation even has a name — “The Fall Down Effect” — and has been predicted since the 1970s. …Timber processing will have to adapt to less volume and evolve toward greater value added.
These letters are all in today’s Victoria Times Colonist “Letters” section:
Four people were arrested, one for the second time, at an old growth logging protest encampment in Upper Walbran, according to RCMP. On Sept. 12, a judge granted an injunction to Tsawak-qin Forestry, which is co-owned by Western Forest Products and the Huu-ay-aht First Nations. RCMP have been enforcing the injunction, going into the forest for the third time. On Dec. 8, RCMP says four men were arrested for allegedly breaching the injunction. One is being held for breaching release conditions from his arrest on Nov. 25. One person was arrested for criminal obstruction of police for allegedly resisting arrest. RCMP says when officers arrived on Dec. 8, they found “physical structures” had been set up on the only bridge leading to a work site where the employees needed access. …Solène Tessier said “Why would the Eby keep clearcutting ancient forests instead of protecting the communities that rely on this dying industry?”
PRINCE GEORGE – Conservation North is calling out Premier David Eby for what they see as inconsistencies in his stance on old-growth logging. They highlight his opposition to logging old-growth forests to keep a Vancouver Island pulp mill running, while remaining quiet about the ongoing old-growth logging happening in the northern regions. …Conservation North argues that in central BC, nearly all the wood supplied to pulp and pellet mills still comes from primary forests, including old-growth areas. …The provincial government said “The interior of B.C. is home to a vast network of lumber sawmills, specialty wood manufacturing facilities, and pulp, paper, and pellet plants. This interconnected sector uses every part of the tree. …The pulp and paper sector is integral to this supply chain, buying lumber sawmill residuals, like sawdust, shavings, and chips, and harvest residuals like branches and bark. …The pulp and paper sector has also been leading the way in using wildfire salvaged wood.
British Columbia’s logging agency has changed a policy that conserved remnant old-growth forest in the province’s northwest, with a government briefing note showing a plan to open those areas for harvesting has been approved. The note, obtained by The Canadian Press and written by a BC Timber Sales manager in the Babine region, acknowledged the shift “may invoke scrutiny” from conservationist environmental groups. It says First Nations in the Bulkley, Morice and Lakes timber supply areas do not support old-growth logging deferrals recommended by a provincially appointed panel in 2021,and continuing to conserve remnant stands “does not demonstrate respect of the First Nations’ responses” to that process. …Independent ecologist Rachel Holt says the briefing note demonstrates a lack of understanding within BC Timber Sales about “the importance of … these irrecoverable ecological values.” But the crisis in B.C.’s forests is not just ecological.
NOOTKA SOUND, BC — Optimism for the future of Chinook salmon is swimming up Muchalat River near the town of Gold River, BC in Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nations (MMFN) territory. Kent O’Neill, of the Nootka Sound Watershed Society (NSWS), says he observed hundreds of fish using a newly restored gravel spawning pad this fall. …Navigating a storm of challenges from historical logging practices to droughty summers, Chinook salmon in the region were assessed as Threatened by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada in 2020. To revive local Chinook salmon stocks, a collective effort led by NSWS, Ecofish Research, a Trinity Consultants Canada team, MMFN and the Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF) was hatched. …Western Forest Products (WFP) also played a major role by providing the gravel and access to the forest service roads. “We wouldn’t have been able to do this project without WFP,” said O’Neill.
We tend to take logging roads for granted as an inherent right of access to Crown land. Their importance was recently reinforced when, just before the first snowfall, we travelled on one of the longest continuous and scenic forestry roads in the province. Ontario’s forest industry is critical to the provincial economy and many northern and rural communities. In 2023, the forest industry contributed $5.4 billion to Ontario’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and generated $21.6 billion in total revenue. The sector supported approximately 128,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs in 2024, many of which are in Indigenous, rural, and northern communities. …The Ontario Forest Industries Association’s policy advisor, Adrian Smith said, “Forest access roads serve far more than the forestry sector. Built and maintained by our sector, they provide vital infrastructure. Forestry companies invest millions of dollars in grading, resurfacing, bridge and culvert upkeep, and winter snow clearing to keep this extensive network safe and reliable.
The Trump administration’s pending deletion of the Endangered Species Act’s definition of “harm” will have an outsize impact on imperiled species in Northwest forests targeted for logging, especially the northern spotted owl, environmental attorneys say. Habitat for several species, including the threatened owl and the endangered marbled murrelet seabird, overlap with federally-managed forests in Oregon, Washington, and California, where logging is expected to increase under White House emergency orders and a new law that requires a roughly 75% increase in timber harvesting in national forests by 2034. “Without adequate, suitable places to live and reproduce, species go extinct,” said Melinda Taylor, senior lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law. “Repealing the definition of harm would undermine almost all of the regulatory framework in place to protect endangered species.” 
TEXAS — At Santa’s Christmas Trees in Grapevine, owner Kevin Keck has a simple motto: “Every tree deserves a home, and every home deserves a tree.” To keep people happy in a challenging economy, he has not raised his prices. …Part of why he’s able to keep his prices down is that his trees aren’t impacted by tariffs. “No, our trees come from Oregon, so they’re all United States-grown and shipped,” Keck said. “So, the tariffs won’t affect us any.”…But artificial trees are impacted. According to the National Christmas Tree Association, about 80% of fake trees in the US are manufactured in China. Some U.S. importers say those tariffs could raise the prices on trees by 10-20%. Keck thinks that the increase will make more people consider live trees.
WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed two major bills for Washington state Tribes, the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe Project Lands Restoration Act, and the Quinault Indian Nation Land Transfer Act. Both bills initiate the first step to return land back to the Tribes by transferring ownership from the federal government to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to be held in trust for the benefit of the Tribes. [The bills were introduced into] legislation in April 2025. The bills now go to the Senate for consideration. “Today, we took an important step in upholding our treaty obligations by passing legislation to transfer land into trust for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and the Quinault Indian Nation,” said Rep. Randall. “I urge my colleagues in the Senate to quickly pass these two bills to ensure we meet our trust responsibilities to restore Tribal lands.”
A new analysis making the rounds on Capitol Hill says the U.S. Forest Service sharply scaled back prescribed burns, thinning and other fuel-reduction work this year, leaving far fewer acres treated than in recent years. Through the first nine months of 2025, the agency logged under 1.7 million acres of treatments, well below the roughly four-year average that wildfire experts say is needed to protect communities and watersheds. The drop-off has Democratic senators and veteran firefighters pressing the agency for staffing numbers and a concrete plan to catch up before next fire season. As reported by Times of San Diego, the data cited by lawmakers comes from an analysis compiled by Grassroots Wildland Firefighters that compares the January-September 2025 total to a roughly 3.6 million-acre annual average from 2021-2024. Senators circulated that tally in a letter demanding detailed staffing and mitigation plans from the Forest Service.
Despite a growing chorus of conservation advocates calling on Montana’s congressional delegates to defend roadless wildlands through permanent protections, a bill to do so seems unlikely to advance without Republican support, including that of U.S. Sen. Steve Daines. A Senate Energy and Natural Resources subcommittee on which Daines serves held a hearing Dec. 2 to consider a slate of 26 public lands and wildfire bills, among them a measure to enshrine the decades-old Roadless Rule into law. Re-introduced in June … the Roadless Area Conservation Act would protect nearly 60 million acres of national forestland. Although it has failed before, its supporters say this version comes at a pivotal moment as the Trump administration moves to roll back safeguards introduced in 2001. Hoping to capitalize on the bipartisan support that helped cleave a public land sale provision out of [the] One Big Beautiful Bill Act … conservation groups this week mounted a similar pressure campaign on Daines.
BOISE, Idaho — Governor Brad Little joined U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz and Idaho Department of Lands Director Dustin Miller on Friday to renew and expand Idaho’s Shared Stewardship agreement with the federal government — a move aimed at increasing the pace and scale of forest management across the state. The updated agreement establishes a collaborative framework between the U.S. Forest Service and the State of Idaho to strengthen policies related to forest restoration, land management, and wildfire mitigation “across Idaho’s forests and nearby communities.” Building on the landmark 2018 Shared Stewardship agreement, the new plan deepens joint efforts to boost timber production, accelerate wildland restoration, and expand forest health projects on national forests and adjacent state and private lands. The partnership reaffirms each side’s commitment to proactive landscape management as fire seasons grow increasingly longer and more intense.
WARREN COUNTY, Pittsburgh — Local leaders and timber industry professionals are hoping for an economic boost as logging increases in the Allegheny National Forest. The timber industry has strong roots in the four counties that contain the Allegheny National Forest: Elk, Forest, McKean, and Warren. With fewer than 150,000 residents, it’s a small enough region where almost everyone knows everyone else in the business. …“If you’re somebody who lives here, almost everybody is touched in some way by the timber industry,” said Julia McCray, at the Allegheny Forest Alliance, a coalition dedicated to the national forest’s health that includes local officials and people from the timber industry. As logging expands on federal lands amid a Trump administration push for more timber, the effects could be felt for years to come — in the forest and beyond. A single logging operation relies on a multi-step chain of work that employs many.
Reforms to Australia’s nature laws have passed federal parliament. A longstanding exemption that meant federal environment laws did not apply to native logging has finally been removed from the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. Native forest logging will now be subject to national environmental standards – legally binding rules supposed to set clear goals for environmental protection. This should be a win for the environment, and some have celebrated it as an end to native forest logging in Australia. But the reality is such celebrations are premature. We don’t have all the details of the new standards, or know how they will be enforced and monitored. Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt has told the forestry industry, including in Tasmania, that native forest operations will continue as usual. In an interview with ABC Radio Hobart, he said the changes keep day-to-day forestry approvals with the state government, but introduce stronger federal oversight.
The opening of IKEA in New Zealand comes as a rural community worries about the fire risk from pine plantations. Since 2020 IKEA has converted six Central Hawke’s Bay farms into pine forestry…This move, combined with the sale of [local] farms to overseas forestry companies, is sparking concerns from locals about the loss of farmland and the risks associated with converting large areas into pines. …Porangahau farmer James Hunter wants New Zealanders to witness the extent of farmland being planted in forestry. Most of IKEA’s 4300 hectares of forestry in Central Hawke’s Bay is near the village of Porangahau, where about 200 hectares of its pine trees went up in flames in October and took days to extinguish because of the high winds grounding helicopters. It’s fires like this that have rural communities on edge, because they say even if the blaze starts on nearby farmland, the forests contain the fuel that feeds them.
The total forest area in the world is 4.1 billion hectares, or 32 per cent of Earth’s total surface area. The tropics are home to the majority of the world’s forests – 45 per cent – while the rest is mainly found in boreal, temperate and subtropical zones. Since 1990, 489 million hectares of forest have been lost to deforestation… While the rate of deforestation is actually slowing, so is the rate of forest expansion, dropping from 9.88 million hectares per year from 2000-2015 to 6.78 million hectares per year in the decade to 2025. Below are the top five countries with the biggest forests as of 2025, according to forest area: