Category Archives: Forestry

Forestry

We don’t have to tear down nature to ‘Build Canada’

By World Wildlife Fund Canada
Cision Newswire
June 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

TORONTO – The federal government’s proposed Build Canada Act, a plan to fast-track “nation-building” development projects, from critical minerals mines and oil and gas pipelines to habitat-fragmenting highways and Arctic deep-water ports, risks damaging the nature that is at the core of Canada’s economy and identity — threatening the wealth of the nation it is supposed to defend. World Wildlife Fund Canada is deeply concerned about the bill, which would allow Cabinet to override key environmental protections, such as the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the Fisheries Act, the Species at Risk Act, and the Migratory Birds Convention Act, for projects deemed in the national interest. We are also concerned that this legislation could undermine the federal government’s obligations under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), including the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent. Development decisions that bypass Indigenous consultation risk perpetuating the very harms that reconciliation is meant to address.

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Canada’s forests may be burning faster than they can grow back

By Ruby Mellen
The Washington Post
June 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Scientists say wildfire could transform parts of the Canadian landscape, as more intense and more frequent fires push forests to adapt and prevent certain common Canadian trees from regrowing…. Canada’s native plants are hardwired to endure the effects of wildfire — to an extent. But … drier conditions and warmer weather due to climate change are making these fires more frequent and hotter. …What could happen is a shift from tall forests to grassland or savanna in some parts of the country… This would in some ways be a return to the past, said Marc-André Parisien, a scientist with the Canadian Forest Service — and not necessarily a bad thing. …“We’re moving to a place that has no historical analogue,” said Mike Flannigan, the science director of the Canadian Partnership for Wildland Fire Science at the University of Alberta. “We’re in new uncharted territory,” as climate change has exacerbated wildfires’ pace and scale. [Full story access requires a subscription to the Washington Post]

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The 2025 wildfire season is on track to be Canada’s 2nd-worst on record

By Nick Murray
The Canadian Press
June 12, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

OTTAWA – This year’s wildfire season in Canada is shaping up to be the second-worst on record and federal officials are warning of a dangerous summer in parts of British Columbia. Officials … held a technical briefing Thursday in Ottawa with an update on the state of multiple wildfires and its forecast for the coming months. “We are expecting a hot and dry summer, and definitely leading to a forecast of increased fire danger conditions for much of western and northern Canada,” said Michael Norton, director general of the Northern Forestry Centre with Natural Resources Canada. Wildfires have scorched 3.7 million hectares across the country so far… Modelling by Environment and Climate Change Canada suggests temperatures will be about a degree or two above normal across the country through August, though the risk of wildfires remains highest in central and western provinces and territories.

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Canada Announces Major Investments to Improve Resilience Against Wildfires

By Natural Resources Canada
Cision Newswire
June 12, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

OTTAWA – Wildfire season is in full effect across much of Canada, with many Canadians currently facing severe wildfire conditions. …The Governments of Canada, British Columbia, Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Manitoba, together with the CIFFC, announced a total investment of $104 million through the Government of Canada’s Resilient Communities through FireSmart (RCF) Program. …The funding announced today will help enhance FireSmart™ programming and support the provinces and territories in increasing capacity and assisting community-based projects to help prevent wildfires and mitigate their impacts, including Indigenous communities that are disproportionately threatened by wildfires. These investments are strengthening the federal government’s actions and efforts to enhance and expand wildfire prevention and mitigation across all levels of government. 

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Ministers present 2025 Wildfire Season Forecast

By Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada
Cision Newswire
June 12, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

OTTAWA, ON – Canadians are coming together to confront a severe wildfire season, driven by rising temperatures and dry conditions. It has already had devastating impacts in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario. The Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada and others delivered the latest assessment of the 2025 wildfire season. …Wildfires are causing widespread damage to communities, ecosystems, infrastructure and air quality, posing serious risks to public health and safety. As climate change continues to influence weather patterns, preparation and public awareness have never been so important. Canadians can access information through the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System and learn how to protect themselves by visiting Get Prepared. Looking ahead, forecasts point to above-normal temperatures from June through August this year, with potential drought intensifying across many areas in the coming weeks, especially in the northern Prairies and northwestern Ontario.

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My Green Mentor

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative
June 12, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, United States

Applications are now open for the free binational SFI/PLT Canada Green Mentor program. Are you a Canadian or American student or young professional aged 18–30? Grow your network, build your skills, and take meaningful steps toward a green career by applying as a mentee. Mentees will have the opportunity to: Meet Sector Professionals: Connect with experts to navigate the job market and gain insights into green careers; Increase Your Employability: Build essential skills—like time management and goal-setting—that align with green careers; and Access Resources to Support Your Journey: Join SFI, PLT Canada, and sector professionals in a series of webinars designed to equip you for success. If you’ve taken part in the Green Mentor program, consider giving back by becoming a mentor. Share your experience, offer guidance, and support other students and young professionals as they grow their green career pathways.

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Flourish or flounder: How wildfires affect Boreal forest wildlife

By Jeremy Warren
CBC News
June 17, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

There’s an entire cycle of life that helps some wildlife thrive when the boreal forest burns, but experts say climate change and human activity have led to larger, more intense wildfires, exacerbating the negative effects on some species. While it’s too early to know exactly how one of the worst wildfire seasons in Saskatchewan history is affecting wildlife, research shows some species have evolved over millennia to take advantage of forest fire cycles. “It’s almost essential, particularly in the boreal forest, to have some degree of fire on the landscape, because it is important to create that sort of regenerative habitat for species that depend on it,” said Jean-Michele DeVink, an environmental consultant and adjunct professor at the University of Saskatchewan. “The challenge, is that for other species that do require more mature forest, the extent of fires that we’re seeing throughout the boreal forest is a bit of a problem.”

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Wildfire recovery equipment repeatedly vandalized, says Okanagan Indian Band

By Chelsey Mutter
Castanet
June 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Wildfire recovery work on the Okanagan Indian Band is being subjected to acts of vandalism. According to a post on the OKIB website, equipment used in the Bradley Creek Wildfire Salvage Project is being repeatedly vandalized. “These illegal actions are putting a stop to critical recovery work and placing our community and lands at further risk,” said the OKIB in a community notice. The salvage project is working with Tolko Industries to remove dead standing (fire-killed) timber to support ecological recovery and reduce wildfire risks in the Bradley Creek area which was impacted by the 2021 White Rock Lake Wildfire. …OKIB said the project is essential to reduce wildfire risk, and restore watershed through erosion control and soil stabilization. The project also supports the return of traditional plants and medicines, creates local employment opportunities and generates revenue through the OKIB forest license.

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More than 80,000 seedlings to be planted for Downton Lake wildfire recovery

By Luke Faulks
Pique News Magazine
June 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

In 2023, a wildfire ripped through the Downton Lake area of the Upper Bridge River Valley (BRV), destroying more than 40 homes, threatening some 270 properties and consuming an area of about 9,600 hectares before being put out. Now, a partnership between the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD), Cariboo Carbon Solutions (CCS) and Tree Canada is looking to plant 80,000 seedlings on private lands in Electoral Area A in 2026 at no cost to participating landowners. …The replanting initiative is part of a broader recovery effort led by the Land-Based Recovery Table, which ensures local representation as ecological restoration in the BRV moves forward. The group includes community leaders, Indigenous partners, the SLRD, provincial ministries, industry partners like CCS and local organizations including the Gun Lake Ratepayers Association. …The seedlings, currently being cultivated at Arbutus Grove Nursery, are a mix of Douglas fir, lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine, hybrid spruce and western larch.

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B.C. is Burning: Wildfire documentary screenings in Kelowna, Vernon

By Cindy White
Castanet
June 15, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

A wildfire documentary funded in part by community donations and Okanagan businesses will be screened in Kelowna and Vernon later this month. B.C. is Burning is a 45-minute film that explores the causes and consequences of the megafires that have devastated communities in the province in recent years. It also looks at science-based solutions that could protect communities, forests and B.C.’s future. The documentary was produced and written by retired forester Murray Wilson, initiated by association producer Rick Maddison and directed/edited with production support from Ryan Tebbutt of Edge Digital Media in Kelowna. It combines expert interviews, government data, and powerful footage from both British Columbia and California. …We know how to stop this,” says Wilson. “B.C. can lead — if we stop solely reacting and start managing our forests to protect lives, cut emissions, and reduce wildfire risk.”

 

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Fire danger alert issued for North Saanich, residents urged to be cautious

Victoria News
June 12, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

With dry conditions persisting, the Fire Danger Rating in North Saanich remains at ‘high’ since it was first raised on June 10, prompting fire and emergency services to urge residents to prioritize fire safety. “Forest fuels are extremely dry and the fire risk is serious,” the district warns. “Fires can start easily, spread quickly and be difficult to control. Use extreme caution in forested areas and during outdoor activities.” “We’re hoping the rating will encourage residents to take a proactive approach to keep their homes and properties safe in the event of a fire,” Deputy Fire Chief Aaron Kary emphasized. The fire department is offering residents valuable tools to enhance their preparedness. Wildfire automated sprinkler systems protection kits are available for purchase through the department, offering an easy-to-install solution for home protection. …While the forecast offers a glimmer of hope with potential rain … the rating will “remain high until significant precipitation occurs.”

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New housing starts, for coastal bears

By Connie Jordison
The Coast Reporter
June 12, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Along with a tight housing market for humans, the lower Sunshine Coast is also experiencing a crunch in denning sites for bears. According to the website of Duncan based Artemis Wildlife Consultants, “the large, old trees that black bears need to survive the wet, cool conditions in coastal BC are often lost during forest harvest operations, sometimes because field staff cannot easily tell which trees are dens”. Helen Davis, a registered professional biologist with that firm visited our area in late May and working with Elphinstone Logging Focus (ELF) restored four potential denning sites in two days. In addition, she guided an ELF team of six through the process of taking legacy old-growth stumps and making a few alterations to hopefully provide a safe, dry den for mainly female black bears to hibernate within. …The full report on the project can be viewed online.

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Wildfires burn through 40 years of timber harvest in Saskatchewan

By Jacob Bamhour
News Talk 650 CKOM
June 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

As wildfires continue to sweep across northern Saskatchewan, the toll is mounting. Not just in evacuations and lost homes, but long-term damage to the province’s forest industry. Carl Neggers, CEO of Forest Saskatchewan, says two of the largest fires, the Shoe Fire and the Ditch, have scorched 900,000 hectares of forest, an area roughly 40 times the size of Saskatoon. According to Neggers, “Saskatchewan’s forestry sector harvest around 23,000 hectares per year. That means this years wildfires have destroyed nearly 40 years of commercial timber.” “We support 12,000 jobs in this province through forestry” Neggers said in a June 9 interview on the Evan Bray Show. “If it impedes allocation or limits access to alternative timber zones, that puts our workforce and mills at risk.” The damage, he says, extends well beyond the logging industry. Forest in the commercial zone are also critical for recreation, traditional land use and Indigenous communities.

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312-acre land transfer in Cowichan to two First Nations complete

By Robert Barron
Ladysmith Chemainus Chronicle
June 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

The transfer of a 312-hectare property neat Skutz Falls to the Lyackson First Nation and Cowichan Tribes has been completed. The land, valued at approximately $8.6 million, was privately owned by Mosiac Forest Management and recently bought by the province. The land transfer, called the Incremental Treaty Agreement, which is a legally binding pre-treaty agreement negotiated by the province and the First Nations, is considered a key reconciliation milestone between the two Quw’utsun Nation communities and the province. The agreement was celebrated in a signing ceremony, attended by B.C. Premier David Eby, on the property in May, 2024. …”The acquisition of this parcel of land could not have been made possible without the commitment of British Columbia, our kinship ties with Cowichan Tribes and willing seller Mosaic,” said Hereditary Chief Laxele’wuts’aat Chief Shana Thomas of Lyackson First Nation.

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State of Idaho lending fire crews to B.C., western Canada

By Steve Berard
Energetic City
June 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West, US West

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Teams of firefighters from Idaho are joining the BC Wildfire Service’s (BCWS) efforts to combat the growing number of wildfires across the province. The Idaho Department of Lands — a government agency that oversees forestry practices and provides fire protection on state land in Idaho — announced on June 2nd that it’s sending fire crews to Canada. The news comes during a particularly intense period of B.C.’s wildfire season… According to a social media post that includes the announcement, the state of Idaho and the province of B.C. are both members of a group of regional governments called the Northwest Wildland Fire Fighting Compact. Members of the compact have agreed to pool together their firefighting resources in times of need.  Other members in Canada include Saskatchewan, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Meanwhile, other American members of the compact include Alaska, Oregon and Hawaii, the newest member.

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From Optimism to Action: What Two Forestry Events Revealed About the Industry’s Future

By Norm Adams, President, PivotLeader Inc.
The Prince George Daily News
June 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

At the 2025 Council of Forest Industries (COFI) Convention in Prince George, the message coming from the stage was clear and consistent: British Columbia’s forestry sector, though challenged, was on the cusp of transformation. Words like resilience, partnership, and innovation echoed across the sessions. COFI’s President and CEO, Kim Haakstad, struck a hopeful tone in her remarks: “The forest sector is facing unprecedented challenges—but with collaboration and innovation, there is a path forward.” …Seven weeks later, I attended the Canada North Resources Expo, in Prince George. The contrast couldn’t have been more striking. This show, which typically draws the biggest names in logging and roadbuilding equipment, felt subdued. Gone were the sprawling displays from Caterpillar, Komatsu, Hitachi, Volvo, John Deere, and XCMG. These are big players – their absence was impossible to miss. …At COFI, we heard big ideas. At the Resource Expo, we saw who’s showing up—and who isn’t.

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Gibsons aims to plant 2,200 trees by 2045 as part of urban forest plan

By Jordan Copp
The Sunshine Coast Reporter
June 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

The Town of Gibsons has endorsed an ambitious urban forest plan to protect and expand tree canopy coverage across the municipality by 2045. The plan, developed by Diamond Head Consulting, was presented to council during the June 3 regular meeting, following community engagement and technical analysis. The urban forest plan establishes canopy cover targets of 31 per cent for urban areas and 39 per cent for greenfield development sites by 2045. Currently, Gibsons maintains 38 per cent overall canopy coverage, representing 160 hectares of tree canopy within the town’s 430-hectare(4.3km²) boundary. The plan notes that while greenfield areas will see reduced canopy due to expected development, strategic planting and protection measures can still achieve meaningful coverage.

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DR Systems Showcases Phoenix Connect at BC Community Forest Assn Conference: A Celebration of Community Forestry and Innovation

DR Systems Inc.
June 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Nanaimo, BC – DR Systems Inc. was proud to join the vibrant community of forestry leaders, land managers, and Indigenous partners at this year’s BC Community Forest Association (BCCFA) Conference. Held in the heart of British Columbia, the event was a powerful celebration of local leadership, resilient communities, and collaborative forest stewardship. At our booth, the team connected with community forest representatives from across the province to showcase Phoenix Connect, our flagship SaaS platform designed for managing forest operations, spatial data, and regulatory reporting. With live demonstrations and one-on-one conversations, we heard firsthand how important it is to have software that’s as adaptable, user-focused, and community-minded as the people who use it. “The conversations we had reinforced why we do what we do – building tools that support sustainable forestry, strengthen partnerships, and make complex reporting more manageable,” said Heidi Walsh, Co-owner at DR Systems.

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Mission forestry turns profit to start 2025 with tariff, wildfire threat looming

By Dillon White
The Mission City Record
June 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Mission’s forestry department reported a net profit of $181,474 to begin 2025. Forestry director Chris Gruenwald presented the department’s quarterly report to council on June 2, with the department expected to remain profitable for the year. A net profit of $1,082,492 was forecasted for the quarter, per the report. “The results for the quarter were due to the lower volumes harvested compared to budget, as the department did not release the first timber sale of the year until late-January, as there was market uncertainty at the end of 2024/start of 2025,” the report reads. The department released a 24,000 m3 Hemlock/Cedar timber sale at the end of January, expected to generate $1.9 million in revenue. However,  Gruenwald notes that “uncertainty exists in the timber market these days” amid threats of new tariffs from the United States. Potential tariffs on softwood lumber increase the risk of market downturns, in addition to a previously expected increase in July.

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City of Powell River Council approves UBCM resolutions

By Paul Galinski
The Powell River Peak
June 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Ron Woznow

City of Powell River councillors have adopted a resolution for the Union of British Columbia Municipalities’ (UBCM) convention in September regarding forest harvesting. Councillor Cindy Elliott and mayor Ron Woznow put this resolution together. Woznow said it was an issue that came from meetings at a previous UBCM convention with the Truck Loggers Association. “Very simply put, the City of Powell River has probably lost about $7 million in revenues,” said Woznow. “That is the estimate of the reduction in revenue that Western Forest Products and other companies have experienced. …“The thing about the forest industry is that it actually creates wealth, as opposed to simply distributing wealth.” …The resolution states that UBCM call upon the provincial government and the minister of forests to take immediate steps to create regulatory certainty for planning and permitting the harvest of the full existing licensed annual allowable cut. The motion passed unanimously.

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3 Ontario water bombers grounded due to pilot shortage, union calls for better wages

By Kris Ketonen
CBC News
June 12, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada East

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) is calling on the province to increase wages for water bomber pilots, as a shortage of pilots has led to the grounding of some aircraft. OPSEU said in a news release that pilots it represents have “resoundingly rejected an offer that would have made Ontario second to last in terms of wages for these dangerous and critical jobs.” OPSEU president JP Hornick told CBC that Ontario water bomber pilots are leaving for other provinces because they can earn better wages. “We have a government that is touting the fact that they’re purchasing six new water bomber planes, but they can’t even actually address the staffing needs that they have on the existing planes,” Hornick said. “This isn’t somebody taking off of a regular tarmac, right? They’re flying planes into the worst possible conditions, active wildfires, dipping down into lakes, filling it with water.”

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Ontario Woodlot Association announces Colleen Drew-Baehre as new president

Northern Ontario Business
June 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Colleen Drew-Baehre

The Ontario Woodlot Association (OWA) is pleased to announce that Colleen Drew-Baehre has been appointed as the organization’s President, effective immediately. Colleen has served as an elected officer on the OWA’s Executive Committee for several years now, and she is also the current Vice-Chair of the Bancroft-Haliburton Chapter of the OWA. Colleen is a retired secondary school teacher who has lived and worked in the North Hastings/Eastern Haliburton area for over 30 years. She lives on a forested property with her husband Ralph, her mother Sidney, a highly energetic Border Collie named Joey, a crazy cat, and occasionally, their two grown children. She graduated from the University of Guelph with an Honours Bachelor of Science (Agriculture) degree majoring in Natural Resource Management (with a wildlife biology add-on), followed by a Master of Science in Rural and Natural Resource Planning and Management.

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Cree Nation Government Affirms Paix Des Braves Prevails over Bill 97

By Nadia Saganash, Director of Quebec and Indigenous Relations
Cree Nation Government in Nation Talk
June 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Nemaska, Eeyou Istchee – The Cree Nation Government confirms that the Adapted Forestry Regime, as established under Chapter 3 of the Agreement. Concerning New Relationship between le Gouvernement du Québec and the Crees of Québec (Paix des Braves) and the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement (JBNQA) takes legal precedence over the provisions introduced in Bill 97 – An Act mainly to modernize the forestry regime and the governance of forests in Québec. This precedence is explicitly affirmed in the bill itself under section 8.2, which states: “The provisions of Chapter 3 of the Agreement Concerning a New Relationship between le Gouvernement du Québec and the Crees of Québec, entered into on 7 February 2002 and approved by Order in Council 289-2002 dated 20 March 2002 (French only), as well as any amendment to that chapter approved by the Government, prevail over the provisions of this Act […].”

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Old fight rekindled between environmentalists and loggers over Trump executive order on timber

Fox 22 WFVX Bangor
June 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

The buzz of saw teeth and scent of crushed pine needles filled the air as Roy Blackburn walked up a muddy path tucked away in the Willamette National Forest. …Timber once drove the economies of states like Oregon. But forest harvests nosedived beginning in the early 1990s due to stricter environmental regulations, a changing lumber market and other factors. President Trump hopes to reverse that trend by executive fiat, ordering the US Forest Service to ramp up logging on federal lands in what environmental groups like Earthjustice call a “cynical attempt to justify destructive logging.” …The amount of timber harvested on Forest Service land has decreased nearly 80% since reaching a high in 1987. …Canadian competition was on Trump’s mind in March when he signed an executive order to immediately expand timber production on federal lands. …Previous administrations allowed environmental groups to drive “the decision-making on our forests.” That’s changing.

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Endangered Species Act Revision Could Weaken Habitat Protections for At-Risk Wildlife, Experts Say

By Andrew Moore
North Carolina State University News
June 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

Federal agencies are seeking to reinterpret a key word in the Endangered Species Act that could weaken habitat protections for certain at-risk species, according to two wildlife biologists at North Carolina State University. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service have proposed a rule that would exclude habitat modification and degradation from the regulatory definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act. “If we lose critical habitat protections for threatened and endangered species … they could face a heightened risk of extinction,” said Chris Moorman, a biology professor. Roland Kays, a research professor of fisheries, wildlife and conservation biology, added: “The Endangered Species Act, as it is written, is crucial to the protection and recovery of at-risk species across the country. And while there have been many attempts to change the law over the years, it’s held up and worked as intended.”

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Senator Murray Presses US Forest Service Chief on Wildfire Preparedness Amid Mass Layoffs & Funding Freezes at Hearing on Forest Service Budget

US Senator Patty Murray
June 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

Patty Murray

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, questioned Chief of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Tom Schultz, at a Senate Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing on the president’s fiscal year 2026 budget request for the Forest Service. During her questioning, Senator Murray highlighted the critical importance of Forest Service workers, and how the firing of these employees puts wildfire preparedness in jeopardy. Senator Murray also questioned how it is remotely realistic for the Forest Service to meet the demands of President Trump’s Executive Order aiming to increase timber output from federal lands by 25 percent while the Trump administration is right now cutting budgets, delaying funding, freezing hiring, and reducing staff across the agency. 

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Forest chief says losing 5,000 employees won’t impact fire season response. Many federal firefighters disagree

By Eric Katz
Government Executive
June 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

Tom Schultz

The head of the lead federal agency tasked with fighting wildfires said it is ready for this summer’s fire season despite shedding thousands of employees in recent months, projecting a confidence level not shared by much of his workforce. US Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz acknowledged his agency has shed 4,200 through an extended paid leave program and another 600 with early retirements, though he said efforts to bring some of those employees back to work and shift others around to fill “critical positions” will ensure its readiness. USFS has all the staff it requires for fire season, Schultz told members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, even as he conceded some workforce issues still require resolutions. The Forest Service has 11,000 firefighters on board, Schultz said, just below the 11,900 the agency employed last fire season. It and its federal partners have 37 incident management teams, shy of the 42 teams it had in 2024.

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Federal Budgets Reveal Plans to Consolidate Wildland Firefighting Forces

By Robert Chaney
Mountain Journal
June 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

©US Forest Service

Federal budget documents confirm the Trump administration’s intention to strip U.S. Forest Service wildfire duties and transferring them to a centralized wildland fire service housed in the Department of Interior. Interior’s Budget In Brief report was released June 2. It includes a six-page document describing the mission of a new U.S. Wildland Fire Service. And it requests $6.55 billion for operations and a reserve fund in Fiscal Year 2026. Congress would have to pass new laws in addition to approving President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2026 budget for the change to take place. That means it won’t affect wildland firefighting this summer, which has already tallied 29,694 incidents burning 1.2 million acres. The proposal also has some government watchdogs speculating it could lead to the wholesale absorption of the Forest Service, which is part of the Department of Agriculture, into Interior and its Bureau of Land Management.

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US Forest Service chief asks wildfire employees who took voluntary resignation to ‘come back’

By Ryan Spencer
Summit Daily News
June 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

Tom Schultz

Just months after the Trump Administration gave federal employees the option to voluntarily resign, the U.S. Forest Service is asking those who resigned to return to work for the wildfire season. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said in a video posted to the Department of Agriculture website on Thursday that employees who took the Trump Administration’s deferred resignation offer should be encouraged to “come back” for the wildfire season. …Nationwide, more than 4,000 Forest Service employees accepted the federal government’s resignation offer, according to POLITICO. The Trump Administration also fired an estimated 3,400 Forest Service employees in February. …The Forest Service did not return a request for comment Monday that included questions about how many employees who accepted the deferred resignation option were “red card” holders qualified to work on wildfires. …Even before the layoffs and voluntary resignations, Colorado mountain towns had concerns that Forest Service staffing was lacking.

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Department of Justice finds Trump can abolish areas protected as national monuments

By Jake Spring
The Washington Post
June 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

©Wikipedia David Lamfrom

Trump administration officials have concluded that President Donald Trump has the authority to entirely abolish protected areas set aside as national monuments by past presidents, according to a legal opinion released Tuesday by the Department of Justice. The May 27 document, which reverses a legal opinion issued in 1938, could be laying the groundwork for Trump to abolish or dramatically shrink national monuments, which confer federal protections to millions of acres of federal land, much of it in the American West. Such a move would take the administration into untested legal territory. “It signals that the president is prepared to do something dramatic and sort of at a scale that we’ve never seen before with respect to national monuments, which encompass many of our most cherished public lands,” said Justin Pidot, a professor at the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law and a former Biden administration official. [A Washington Post subscription is required to access the full story]

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Trump team talks of fighting fires and cleaning forest floors

By Michael Doyle
E&E News
June 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

Trump administration officials on Tuesday warned of an ominous-looking fire season ahead as they repeated the case for unifying federal wildland firefighting agencies and thinning overgrown forests. Convening with the president in the White House Oval Office, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Agriculture Secretary Brook Rollins alternated lavishing praise on President Donald Trump with a fire-fighting call to arms and an insistence that their respective departments will be ready. “This is going to be an above-normal fire season,” Rollins said, standing near Trump, who was sitting behind the oak Resolute Desk. “This means that there is a higher likelihood of large and intense wildfires than is typically expected for this time of year for the next few months.” There were 64,897 wildfires reported in 2024, compared to 56,580 reported in 2023, according to the Boise, Idaho-based National Interagency Fire Center. The wildfires consumed 8.9 million acres in 2024 compared to 2.6 million acres in 2023. [to access the full story an E&E News subscription is required]

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We set a big chunk of California wilderness on fire. You’re welcome

By Jack Dolan
The Los Angeles Times
June 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

HOPLAND, California — …Dripping gasoline onto dry grass and deliberately setting it ablaze in the California countryside felt wildly reckless, especially for someone whose job involves interviewing survivors of the state’s all too frequent, catastrophic wildfires. But “good fire,” as Nielson called it, is essential for reducing the fuel available for bad fire, the kind that makes the headlines. The principle is as ancient as it is simple. …With that in mind, the state set an ambitious goal in the early 2020s to deliberately burn at least 400,000 acres of wilderness each year. …But California officials worry their ambitious goals are likely to be thwarted by deep cuts to those federal agencies. Gov. Gavin Newsom added $72 million to the state’s forest management budget to bridge some of the gap expected to be left by federal agencies. But wildfire experts say that’s just a drop in the bucket.

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New state forest rule could mean another hit to timber revenue in Lewis County

By Jacob Moore
The Centralia Chronicle
June 13, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

After a June 6 vote by the Washington state Forest Practices Board, a new rule could lead to 200,000 acres of private forestland across the state going out of production and being left to grow. A report from the Washington Department of Commerce suggests the rule could cost Lewis County more than $350 million in lost lumber revenue. The proposed rule calls for a major expansion of buffer zones around non-fish-bearing streams. Called riparian buffer zones, they are places where trees must be left to shade streams and keep them cool. …The divisiveness of the new rule was apparent in the board room not just during the vote but for hours of public comment and discussion between board members beforehand. …Many who testified against the new rule were small forestland owners, who the Department of Ecology says will be the most impacted by the new rule.

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Latest federal budget bill would sell Oregon public lands, boost logging

By Courtenay Sherwood
Oregon Public Broadcasting
June 12, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The federal government could start selling off thousands of acres of Oregon public lands if provisions added to the Big Beautiful Bill win Congressional approval. A draft of the legislation was released Wednesday. Housing is also part of this latest push to sell Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service land. US Senator Mike Lee is calling for the heads of the US Interior and Agriculture departments to dispose of between 2.2 and 3.3 million acres of federal BLM and Forest Service land from 11 states – including Oregon. …Separately, the legislation calls for the Forest Service to boost logging by 75% over the next decade. It’s not clear if those logging goals are realistic. The Forest Service has missed its timber targets every year for more than a decade, though it’s possible that tariffs on Canadian lumber could boost demand for logging in the United States, according to industry analysts.

Related coverage by Janet Wilson in the Palm Springs Desert Sun: National forest, BLM lands could be sold for housing under Senate proposal

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Federal cuts threaten Oregon’s disaster response ahead of wildfire season

By April Ehrlich
Oregon Public Broadcasting
June 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: US West

As Oregon faces what’s supposed to be an intense wildfire season, counties are grappling with federal cuts and uncertainty that could hinder their ability to help Oregonians during fires, floods and other disasters. The Trump administration hasn’t renewed a critical grant that helps fund local disaster response, leaving Oregon counties and tribal governments vulnerable ahead of a potentially active wildfire season. “Getting alerts out will be a little bit later or delayed, or not as clear and concise,” said Bryan Lee, emergency manager for Benton County and chair of Oregon’s Emergency Management Command Council. “The other impacts would be potentially no mass care shelter sites being stood up or managed very well.” Oregon’s counties have asked state lawmakers to help by putting $9 million toward local emergency systems in the next two-year budget. But the chance of that happening is somewhat slim during a leaner-than-expected budget cycle.

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Maintaining, Protecting Forests and Woodlands Across NY Needs to Take Priority

By Hugh Canham, Legislative Affairs Committee Chair, New York Forest Owners Association
The Adirondack Almanack
June 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

…The recently introduced bill by Senator Rachel May and Assemblymember Dr. Anna Kelles (S.5603/A.7550) would give partial property tax relief to landowners statewide who agree to permanent easements agree to permanent easements to protect private forest land from development while increasing carbon storage, in response to the stated need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the State.  This is a worthy objective and using easements instead of fee purchase is a good way to proceed. However, there are several concerns when viewed from the perspective of the private landowner concerning timber harvests, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, type of easement, and property tax relief. …Carbon sequestration is an important function of New York’s forests and woodlands. …While it may seem counterintuitive to those unfamiliar with modern forestry, data show that sustainably managed forests yield substantial climate benefits. The data does not support the common misconception that older forests always provide superior carbon benefits.

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Old-growth forests and ancient trees: what you need to know

The World Economic Forum
June 17, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

The world’s oldest forests are facing growing pressure from all sides. Their decline isn’t just an environmental concern – it carries serious consequences for people, climate stability and global biodiversity. According to a new World Resources Institute (WRI) report, the world lost more primary rainforest in 2024 than in any other year in at least the last two decades. The WRI defines primary forest as “old-growth forests that are typically high in carbon stock and rich in biodiversity”. …Human activity has dramatically reduced ancient forests worldwide. Take the UK, for example, which was at one time thought to be 75% covered by wildwood. Today, that figure is just 10%, with only a quarter of that being ancient woodland. …How can we break this cycle? It starts with tackling the problem at both ends: preventing deforestation and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

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One-Third of Forest Lost This Century Is Likely Gone for Good — and Remaining Loss Carries Lasting Consequences, New Analysis Warns

By Michelle Sims, Radost Stanimirova, Maxim Neumann, Anton Raichuk & Drew Purves
World Resources Institute
June 12, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

WASHINGTON, D.C. — One-third (34%) of all global forest lost between 2001 and 2024 is likely permanent — meaning trees in those areas are unlikely to grow back naturally — according to a new analysis by World Resources Institute (WRI) and Google DeepMind. The impact is even more severe in tropical primary rainforests, where a staggering 61% of loss is tied to permanent land use change — a major setback for some of the planet’s most vital ecosystems for biodiversity and carbon storage. Researchers also warn that while the remaining two-thirds of forest loss is typically linked to “temporary” disturbances like logging or wildfire — it can still have lasting consequences. Forests may take decades to recover. And even when they do, they don’t always return to full health. …Michelle Sims, Research Associate at WRI, “This knowledge is essential to developing smarter actions at the regional, national and even local level — to protect remaining forests and restore degraded ones”.

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Funds to tackle Europe’s forest fires poorly targeted, says EU watchdog

By Jennifer Rankin
The Guardian
June 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

European funds to prevent forest fires have been poorly targeted and sometimes distributed in a hurry, according to a report from the EU’s spending watchdog. The number of forest fires in EU countries has increased dramatically over the last two decades as the climate crisis fuels ever bigger conflagrations. An area twice the size of Luxembourg has been consumed by flames in an average recent year, killing people, destroying homes and wildlife and sending megatonnes of planet-heating emissions into the air. The European court of auditors praised the decision to devote more money to preventing fires but said European-funded projects were not always spent where they could make the biggest difference. In Greece, authorities were using a map drawn up in 1980 to assess the risk of forest fires. In Portugal, one area selected as a priority for funds contained a zone that was underwater due to a recently built dam.

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Woodland Trust report calls for action to save woodland wildlife

By Zac Sherratt
BBC News
June 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Urgent action must be taken to avoid a loss of wildlife due to the “plummeting” condition of the UK’s woodlands, according to a new report. The report, published by the Woodland Trust on Tuesday, found that the quality of woodland is on the decline, despite a slight increase in tree cover. Woodland covers 24% of Surrey, making it the most wooded county in England. Abigail Bunker, director of conservation and external affairs at the trust, said: “We are calling on the government and others to invest in the management of our woodlands.” She said investing in woodland management would mean wildlife could experience the benefits “of these precious ecosystems”. Woodlands are becoming less effective as habitats for wildlife because they lack complexity, such as having enough trees of differing ages, states and sizes.

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