Category Archives: Forestry

Forestry

Canada’s Forest Sector Welcomes G7 Wildfire Commitment

Forest Products Association of Canada
June 18, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Forest Products Association of Canada issued this statement to recognize the release of the Kananaskis Wildfire Charter at the G7 meetings: Canada’s forest sector welcomes the G7’s commitment to address the environmental, economic, health, and social challenges that come with the increase in catastrophic wildfires globally. Over 3.7 million hectares have already burned in Canada this year, putting us on pace for our second worst fire season on record. To put that in some context, more than five times the land base that Canada’s foresters would harvest in an entire year has already burned in 2025. And when Canada’s foresters do their work, they ensure the forest is regrown. Fires in some parts of Canada are now burning so hot that regeneration of these forests are challenged due to scorched soils. The time for action is now. Quite simply, fires will get worse if we are not more proactive in managing fuel loads and our aging forests.  

Additional coverage by Matthew Scace at the Canadian Press: G7 leaders agree to ‘charter’ on wildfires, pledging global co-operation

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Canada’s wildfire crisis is displacing First Nations at alarming rates

The Grist
June 18, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

Since mid-May, wildfires across Canada have burned 9.6 million acres, prompting the evacuation of approximately 40,000 people. According to Indigenous Services Canada, a government ministry, more than half of those evacuees are from First Nations communities, and nearly 34 tribes in almost every province are affected. The sudden rush of refugees has challenged the country’s crisis response infrastructure as people seek shelter and services in cities far from their homes, with little information of when they may return to their communities. …Indigenous Services Canada has been authorized to release $20.9 million to disburse to First Nations. …According to an Intact Centre report in 2023, 60 percent of Canadian communities are now vulnerable to wildfires, a third of which are Indigenous living on reserves. 

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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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McBride Community Forest Expanded Election Boundaries

Letter by Al Birnie, Former Chair, Take Back Our Forest, 2010
The Rocky Mountain Goat
June 17, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Attending the McBride Community Forest Corporation Open House on May 24, I was both surprised and delighted to hear Chair Mike Monroe announce that the Articles of Incorporation of the MCFC have been permanently amended to guarantee that, starting with the 2026 Board elections, the majority of members will be elected by voters throughout the area of the forest, rather than only McBride Village Council! …This is how the CF was proposed to be structured in the first place, and is exactly what Mike and I and many others unsuccessfully fought for back in 2010 through the community group Take Back Our Forest! …The new arrangement by no means automatically solves every issue the CF will have to deal with, as there naturally will be differing opinions on how it should operate.

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Documentary ‘B.C. is Burning’ set to premiere in region feeling the heat

By Jen Zielinski
The Northern View
June 17, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

An independent documentary on the causes and consequences of British Columbia’s escalating wildfire crisis will premiere in Kelowna and Vernon this month. The 45-minute film, B.C. is Burning, was put together through community funding and will attempt to investigate what’s fuelling today’s mega-fires and look into the science-based solutions that could protect the province’s forests, communities, and future. Produced and written by retired forester Murray Wilson, the film was initiated by associate producer Rick Maddison… Featuring forest professionals, wildfire officials, and researchers, B.C. is Burning reveals the growing urgency—and the real solutions—to managing fire in an age of climate change, said Wilson. …The Kelowna screening will take place Tuesday, June 24 at 7 p.m. at the Mary Irwin Theatre. The Vernon screening will take place Thursday, June 26,  at 7 p.m. at the Vernon Performing Arts Centre

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Nakusp open house welcomes public into wildfire fuel break work

By Evert Lindquist
Revelstoke Review
June 17, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Residents curious for an update and behind-the-scenes on local forest fuel mitigation this wildfire season are invited to attend a free open house in Nakusp this Wednesday, June 17. Hosted by the Nakusp & Area Community Forest (NACFOR), the event unites voices from forestry, conservation, wildfire management and FireSmart to educate participants on work happening northeast of Nakusp at the Wensley Creek Cross Country Ski Trails to minimize fire-spreading foliage. “NACFOR contractors have been working on both the commercial harvesting patches that were planned for the Wensley Creek area, and continuing hand treatment of understory and ground fuel in other areas,” communications specialist Skye Cunningham shared by email.

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Wildfire risk reduction project near Merritt a model for community-led forest management

By Jeff Andreas
RadioNL
June 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

A wildfire risk reduction initiative led by the Lower Nicola Indian Band Development Corporation (LNIBDC) has significantly decreased wildfire hazards in the Steffens Estates area, just north of Merritt, while setting an example for Indigenous-led land stewardship in British Columbia. The multi-phase project, which began in 2022 and was completed in March 2024, combined strategic timber harvesting with intensive fuel mitigation efforts to create safer forest conditions near the Steffens Estates subdivision—land bordering private residences and Crown forests. With more work planned near Steffens Estates and around critical communications infrastructure on Iron Mountain, the project is part of a broader effort to proactively manage wildfire risk in British Columbia. B.C. Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar also praised the initiative: “Wildfire risk reduction is one of the most important ways we can protect people, homes, and vital infrastructure – especially as our province faces the growing impacts of climate change.”

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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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Remembering a key player behind the Sault’s ‘bug lab’

By Darren Taylor
The Soo Today
June 19, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada East

Family members and local scientists gathered at the Great Lakes Forestry Centre on Monday to remember James MacBain Cameron. Cameron spearheaded the Centre’s growth from modest roots to its modern day status as a large, respected scientific facility. An entomologist, Cameron was born in Scotch Hill, Nova Scotia in 1910. He moved to the Sault in 1945 and was the original director of the Insect Pathology Research Institute, dedicated to protecting forests in the ongoing fight against threats posed by insects.  The Insect Pathology Research Institute eventually became known as the Great Lakes Forestry Centre in 1976, one year after Cameron’s death in 1975. Cameron is remembered in a professional sense for making the Centre grow through his ability to recruit scientists to work at the Queen Street East lab.

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Edmonton keeping eye out for ‘relentless killer’ in tree canopy

By Brittany Ekelund
CTV News
June 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

The City of Edmonton is keeping an eye out for what it calls a “deceptively attractive” and “tremendously damaging” invasive pest that has been spreading in Canada. The emerald ash borer is a bright metallic green beetle the city said has proven to be a “relentless killer” of ash trees in North America – with 99 per cent of trees in an infested area dying within 6 years of the beetle’s arrival. The insect, which is native to eastern Asia, lays its eggs in ash trees. The larvae then chew through the cambium layer of the bark and create tunnels that stop the flow of nutrients in damaged areas and eventually kill the tree. Mike Jenkins, senior scientist with the City of Edmonton, said the beetles were first found in North America in the 1990s.

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Tent caterpillars are back

By Julianna Balsamo
CTV News
June 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

They slither in silence, drape trees in silk and chew through lively leaves. This year, the forests of Ontario are full of a very distinctive, creepy crawler – the tent caterpillar. Eastern tent caterpillars are appearing in large numbers across the province marking what experts describe as an ‘outbreak year’ for the species. While noticeable, the current outbreak is not as severe as previous ones, according to Dan Rowlinson, forest health field coordinator with Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources. According to the Government of Ontario, periodic outbreaks occur roughly every 10 to 12 years and typically last three to six years in a particular areas. The tent caterpillar, often mistaken for their close relatives; the spongy moth, is known for having a similar looking larvae.

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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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City Council Votes to Move Tree Regulation Team to Permitting Office, Removes $2 Million From Enforcement

By Sophie Peel
The Willamette Week
June 18, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The Portland City Council made a major change last week to the team of inspectors that enforces the city’s Tree Code, which regulates all street trees and some trees on private land across the city. The council voted to move the entire tree regulation team—which currently falls under the Urban Forestry division, a program nested within the parks bureau—to Portland Permitting & Development. …Councilor Eric Zimmerman called into question Urban Forestry and how it polices and fines Portlanders seeking to trim or remove trees on or near their property. …The tree regulators—who also process and vet permits for tree removals, replantings and prunings—will no longer be the under the oversight of city forester Jenn Cairo, whose management has come under scrutiny.The council also voted to transfer $2.1 million of Parks Levy funds from the Tree Code regulation division to backfill maintenance cuts to outdoor parks. 

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State foresters take to skies to survey forest health

KEZI News 9 Oregon
June 18, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: US West

SALEM, Ore. – Researchers are taking to the skies this month to survey Oregon’s forests for damage from pests and other threats, according to the Oregon Department of Forestry and USDA Forest Service. Forest officials said that the Pacific Northwest Aerial Detection Survey is the longest continuous annual survey of its kind in the U.S. Airborne researchers use fixed-wing aircraft to identify trees in distress, flying between 1,500 to 2,500 feet above ground. “Oregon has about 30 million acres of forest so flying in a grid pattern over it allows us to find problems even in remote areas hard to reach by vehicle or on foot,” said Christine Buhl, ODF Forest Entomologist. The survey has highlighted a concerning trend of increasing tree deaths due to drought stress and beetle attacks.

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California’s 2025 wildfire season was already going to be dangerous. Trump has made it worse

By Hayley Smith
The Los Angeles Times
June 18, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: US West

As California continues to reel from the historic firestorm that decimated portions of Los Angeles, the state is now facing the prospect of an exceptionally active wildfire season fueled by hot, dry conditions. It may not be ready: Experts say sweeping changes at federal agencies that play key roles in California’s wildfire preparation and response could make a challenging season even worse. …The forecast arrives as the Trump administration is enacting budget cuts, layoffs, office closures and restructuring at the U.S. Forest Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Trump says changes will help eliminate federal waste and save tax dollars. However, these three agencies are critical components of California’s wildfire response capabilities… Weakening them at the start of fire season — and at a moment when human-caused climate change is driving larger and more destructive blazes — puts California at a dangerous disadvantage, multiple experts said.

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Oregonians deserve a smarter approach to wildfires

By Derek Johnson & Lorelei Juntunen, Nature Conservancy
The Oregon Capital Chronicle
June 18, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: US West

Each year, Oregon braces for wildfire season. And each year, we spend tens of millions (sometimes hundreds of millions) trying to put those fires out. But despite our best efforts, the fires keep getting worse — more dangerous and more destructive.  Science tells us that suppression alone isn’t enough. To meaningfully reduce risk, we must invest in proactive mitigation, restoring the health and resilience of fire-prone landscapes, and helping communities prepare for wildfire and smoke.  This legislative session, Oregon lawmakers have a chance to make an important initial investment to protect our forests, our homes, and our public health in the long run.  A package of bills now under consideration would provide $280 million per biennium for a comprehensive wildfire response. These bills reflect recommendations from the Wildfire Funding Work Group, convened by the State Fire Marshal, Oregon Department of Forestry, Governor Tina Kotek, Tribal Nations, and shaped by a wide array of stakeholders.  

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Cal Fire Allocates $72 Million for Forest Health and Resilience Projects in California

Sierra Daily News
June 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) has announced the allocation of nearly $72 million to support extensive land management projects aimed at restoring forest health and resilience across the state. Through its Forest Health Program, Cal Fire has distributed 12 grants to various local and regional partners working on projects spanning state, local, tribal, federal, and private lands. These initiatives are designed to tackle critical forest health issues, reduce wildfire risks, improve ecosystem resilience, and enhance carbon sequestration across California’s diverse landscapes. The forest health grant projects must focus on large-scale forestlands that involve multiple landowners and jurisdictions, with a minimum size of 800 acres. These projects are expected to be applied across expansive areas to achieve regional forest resilience, prioritizing initiatives that incorporate a mix of activities involving experienced partnerships.

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Sierra Nevada Conservancy launches new Wildfire and Forest Resilience grant round to reduce fuels, protect communities

Sierra Nevada Conservancy
June 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) is accepting statements of interest for its Wildfire and Forest Resilience Directed Grant Program. Funded through Proposition 4 (Climate Bond) and fast-tracked by Governor Gavin Newsom’s emergency proclamation, this immediate action program will allocate $10 million for projects within SNC’s Sierra-Cascade service area that will protect people and communities. Passed in November of 2024, the Climate Bond allocates $1.5 billion to wildfire and forest-resilience programs. In March 2025, the Governor signed an executive order authorizing $170 million of Climate Bond funds to be issued to a variety of state entities to expedite forest-health, prescribed fire, and fuel-reduction projects that will advance wildfire resilience statewide. The SNC received just under $31 million of this allotment and at its recent June meeting, the SNC Governing Board approved grant guidelines for the first cycle of the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Directed Grant Program that will distribute $10 million.

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In new proposal, 60% of kicker would go to wildfire, rest to Oregonians making less than $95k

By Alex Baumhardt
The Oregon Capital Chronicle
June 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

A late-in-the-session Hail Mary proposal to redirect the bulk of the state’s “kicker” tax rebate to fund statewide wildfire work would still kick some of the rebate back to most Oregonians. Under a forthcoming amendment to Senate Bill 1177 — still a placeholder bill for some mechanism to fund wildfire prevention and response work in the state — Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland, proposes the Legislature move $1 billion of the expected $1.64 billion state tax rebate to an interest-bearing wildfire account. “The notion of walking into every session with $100 to $150 million waiting for us for wildfire, is really attractive, as opposed to starting from scratch every two years,” Golden said. Under his proposal, $1 billion from next year’s kicker would be put into an interest-bearing account that could, if earning 5% each year, send $100 million each biennium to the state for wildfire — covering about one-third of the total $300 million the state hopes to budget each biennium.

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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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Whitefish Creek Enterprises Named 2025 Minnesota Logger of the Year

Minnesota Logger Education Program
June 17, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: US East

Brady Hasbargen & Rick Horton

Whitefish Creek Enterprises, Inc. of Baudette has been named the 2025 Minnesota Logger of the Year by the Minnesota Sustainable Forestry Initiative Implementation Committee. The award was presented to Brady Hasbargen of Whitefish Creek at the Minnesota Logger Education Program workshop held in Bemidji in April. The Logger of the Year Award recognizes outstanding independent logging contractor performance with the purpose of honoring Minnesota’s competent professional independent logging contractors. The formal nomination clearly demonstrates that Whitefish Creek Enterprises are recognized by their peers for professionalism, commitment to sustainable forestry, using best business management practices, trade organization involvement, fostering excellent landowner and forester relationships, and for their exceptional community outreach activities. 

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Iowa woodland owners pledge to keep advocating for the Forest Reserve Program

By Olivia Cohen
The Gazette
June 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

Tim Meyer’s interest in the outdoors goes back decades, beginning with hunting. In 1987, he bought 115 acres of land in Davis County in southern Iowa. It was on that land that his love of the outdoors — and his interest in developing a healthy forest — grew. Today, that property has grown to 384 acres, which includes 320 acres of forest. Last year, Meyer’s knowledge and care for trees was honored when he and his wife, Pam Goschke, were named Iowa’s Outstanding Tree Farmers by the Iowa Tree Farm Committee. The award honored Meyer’s work fostering woodlands across the state, but learning the ways of tending to woodlands wasn’t always easy. “I didn’t realize how cruel nature can be,” said Meyer, who lives in Iowa County. “If you leave a forest unmanaged, there’s really a war going on out there in the forest because, you know, bad trees outgrow good trees.”

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Environmental groups sue to protect western North Carolina forests from increased logging

By Michelle Alfini
WSOC-TV
June 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

As Western North Carolina’s forests recover from Hurricane Helene, environmental groups say Pisgah and Nantahala face a one-two punch from the federal government, potentially setting the stage for further destruction. For as long as the country has had national forests, logging has been a part of their management, but those needs are also weighed against the need to maintain habitat, recreational opportunities, protect local water systems and defend wildlife. In the past few years, the U.S. Forest Service has opened up more land to logging and now with a recent executive order calling for increased timber production across the country, environmental nonprofits like Center for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife and Asheville-based MountainTrue are suing to prevent what they believe could severely damage habitat in a way that could take decades to recover from.

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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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Logging company using ‘zombie’ permit from 1977 to log endangered possum habitat

By Angela Heathcote
ABC News, Australia
June 16, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

A Victorian timber company is using what has been dubbed a “zombie” license from 1977 to log critically endangered mountain ash forest, including the habitat of the Leadbeater’s possum, which was once thought extinct. Conservationists said the activation of such an old licence was a loophole allowing the loggers to avoid the application of more recent laws designed to protect endangered plants and animals, and which require consultation with the public prior to logging. …The council approved the application, leaving environmentalists and some scientists furious. …Critically endangered Leadbeater’s possums have been observed on the perimeter of the property and in the state forest that neighbours the property. …Professor Lindenmayer said the logging of 16 hectares of mountain ash forest on this property could fragment Leadbeater’s possum populations.

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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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