Montréal, QC – The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is pleased to announce Domtar as the recipient of the 2026 SFI Leadership in Conservation Award. Certified to the SFI 2022 Forest Management, Fiber Sourcing, and Chain of Custody Standards, Domtar is being recognized for sustained engagement with the SFI Climate Smart Forestry Initiative and leadership in meaningful conservation efforts. Holding SFI certification for more than 20 years, and as the largest holder of SFI Forest Management certificates, Domtar brings substantial scale to responsible forest management. …“Domtar exemplifies the type of leadership that is helping shape the future of conservation in North American forests,” saidLauren T. Cooper, Chief Conservation Officer at SFI.
A new UBC study has found that lands managed by Indigenous Peoples consistently protect forests, biodiversity and carbon stores at levels equal to or greater than government-designated protected areas—yet most of these lands remain inadequately recognized or resourced. The paper analyzed 111 peer-reviewed papers… Three-quarters of those studies found a positive relationship between Indigenous lands and conservation. …The study also highlights a major gap in the research itself: only seven per cent of the 111 papers included Indigenous authors. “This is a significant disconnect,” said Garry Merkel, co-author and director of UBC’s Centre of Indigenous Land Stewardship and a member of Tahltan Nation. “Scientists often find it difficult to accept Indigenous science as legitimate, resulting in academic research that does not fully reflect Indigenous knowledge systems or perspectives. This work will help future research to be more inclusive and respectful in its acknowledgement of Indigenous communities.”
Dear North Cowichan mayor and council, and Premier David Eby: It’s not surprising a four-councillor cluster voted against a cogent April 15 motion urging our province to review and strengthen our forest policies, including those governing raw-log exports. The difference this time is right-wing councillors Findlay, Manhas, Caljouw Jr., and Hogg seemingly disregarded valley forest workers, and backed corporate timber firms’ desires for less, not more, public land-harvesting rules and regulations. Coun. Chris Justice’s logical, timely motion aimed to boost wood-fibre supplies for Canadian processing and value-added manufacturing — supporting local and Island forestry jobs — partly through a long-sought raw-log export ban. …Admit the current industry’s end is near. Instead, let’s finally explore making alternative, job-rich building materials in North Cowichan and elsewhere.
Wildfire investigators found a small cabin, a barbecue, a metal campfire ring and shooting targets near where one of the most destructive wildfires in the Okanagan originated. But while the McDougall Creek wildfire was determined to be human caused, the exact cause of the fire remains “undetermined.” The McDougall Creek was first reported to the BC Wildfire Service on Aug. 15, 2023, putting up a small puff of smoke in the hills above West Kelowna. Two days later, the fire had spread rapidly through a number of Central Okanagan neighbourhoods, destroying nearly 200 homes. This past December, the Ministry of Forests completed its Wildfire Origin and Cause Investigation Report… But despite more than two years of investigation by three wildfire investigators, the cause of the massive fire remains “undetermined.” This is largely due to the fire burning back over the area of origin, destroying any evidence of its ignition.
…I recently wrote about how the Trump administration’s efforts to reorganize the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service and shutter 57 of its 77 research and development (R&D) facilities isn’t really about efficiency—it’s about hollowing out another science agency whose mission is to protect people, places, and livelihoods. The Forest Service has since updated its website to qualify that these R&D closures are “possible” but not a foregone conclusion. Yet, as details emerge, one thing is painfully clear: this plan would dismantle the world’s premier—and largest—wildfire research agency when wildfire risk, climate impacts, and economic losses are accelerating. Given increasing severity of wildfires, losing this research would diminish our understanding of managing forests under climate change. Trump’s plans to end climate studies, allowing forest fuel loads to build and diseases to spread, leaves our hands tied as we try to prevent wildfires without the benefit of evidence-based science.
A new effort to force states to affirm the Trump administration’s views on DEI, transgender athletes and immigration when signing contracts with the U.S. Forest Service is threatening millions of dollars in wildfire grant funding and fire reduction projects on federal lands. Some liberal states can’t sign the documents because the policies clash with state law, forestry experts say. Already, at least one state is reporting that the new rules have stalled work to reduce wildfire risk and assist with projects on national forest lands. Other states say the requirements are so vague that they don’t know how to follow them. And some timber industry leaders believe the standoff could cut into their revenues. …The update to the requirements governing federal partnerships comes even as many Western states brace for a brutal wildfire season, following a winter that brought record high temperatures and a paltry snowpack.
SALEM, Ore. — 
PORTLAND, Ore. — 
Colorado wildfire leaders are bracing for what could be an especially busy and dangerous summer for wildfires across the West. The Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control presented its wildfire preparedness plan to Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday, April 30, during a news conference where state and federal partners affirmed their readiness to respond and called on the public to prepare. “We are facing a very challenging fire year, where our resources will be tested across not only Colorado, but across the West,” said Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control Michael Morgan during the briefing at the division’s hangar in Broomfield. Colorado — and most of the West — is heading into summer after some of the worst winter snowpack conditions on record and persisting widespread drought. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor Report shows that 100% of Colorado and roughly 70% of the West are facing some level of drought.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —The rising cost of jet fuel is putting pressure on airlines and organizations that rely on planes, but Cal Fire says its aerial firefighting operations will not be affected as crews prepare for peak fire season. Cal Fire operates the largest aerial firefighting fleet in the world, with aircraft stationed across California to respond to fires wherever they ignite. Despite the high jet fuel costs, the organization says it remains committed to fighting fires without interruption and that public safety is non-negotiable. One way Cal Fire saves money is by conducting some of its training sessions in flight simulators instead of using planes and helicopters. This approach reduces fuel consumption and minimizes wear and tear on the aircraft, which lowers maintenance costs.
…Wildfires burned more than 1.9 million acres in Oregon in 2024. By the time they finally died down at the end of October, the state had spent more than $350 million fighting them, greatly exceeding the $10 million it had allocated. “By July 21, I had already completely blown through my cash on hand,” said Kyle Williams, Oregon Department of Forestry’s deputy director for fire operations. Contractors weren’t promptly paid for services they’d already provided, from digging fuel breaks to supplying meals, and the state had to hold an emergency legislative session to allocate the money. That summer highlighted the flaws in how the state funds both firefighting and the preventive work that reduces the chances of large, destructive blazes in the first place. This year, as drought and a devastating snowpack stack up across the West, officials are bracing for what could be a challenging fire season. The Idaho Department of Lands has roughly $38 million set aside. 
With wildfires already burning and drought persisting across much of the US, fire experts are bracing for what could be an extreme fire season. The U.S. Forest Service is going into it having done far less work than in recent years to manage the dry, flammable vegetation that can fuel catastrophic fires. In 2025, the Forest Service reduced vegetation on almost 1.5 million fewer acres than in 2024, according to an analysis of the agency’s data by NPR and firefighting experts. …The Forest Service said in a statement that the drop in prevention work is mostly due to staff being occupied with firefighting and because environmental conditions were not right for doing prescribed burns in the Southeast. The agency lost 16% of its workforce as of last summer, with 5,860 personnel leaving in the first six months of 2025 as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the size of government. 
Russian timber and cellulose exports have collapsed by 50% between 2021 and 2025, the steepest fall of any sector tracked by NATO-frontline intelligence across four years of Western sanctions, with the same Latvian assessment revealing that sanctions have cost Moscow more than US$130 billion as it scrambled to source banned goods between 2022 and 2025. That is according to a new analysis published in April by the Constitution Protection Bureau (SAB), one of Latvia’s three security intelligence services, drawing on internal Russian institutional forecasts obtained through intelligence collection alongside SAB’s own assessment. Russia was the world’s largest softwood lumber exporter in 2021, ahead of its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. …According to the analysis, Russia paid an additional US$32.5 billion each year to acquire sanctioned Western goods through intermediaries at inflated prices, excluding cases where no substitute was available. 
Commission attempts to retrospectively curb “rampant bureaucracy” in the EUDR are “inadequate”, according to the German Sawmill and Timber Industry Association (DeSH). DeSH says the new simplification package for the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) falls far short of the goal of genuine simplification and continues to create uncertainty rather than clarity in practice. Instead of solving structural problems, DeSH says the Commission is attempting to retrospectively curb the rampant bureaucracy with ever-new guidelines, FAQs, and exemptions. …Ms Möbus says the goal of the EUDR – to combat global deforestation – is correct and important. “However, the EU has taken a wrong turn on the way there. The regulation has developed into a bureaucratic behemoth that poses enormous challenges for the companies affected.” …“The association call for a significant reduction in bureaucratic requirements, practical solutions for implementation in the supply chain, and genuine risk-based approaches that adequately consider regions without deforestation risk.”