Category Archives: Forestry

Forestry

Canada Invests in Green Jobs for Youth

By Natural Resources Canada
The Government of Canada
May 28, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

OTTAWA, ON—The Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families, announced $15 million to create 470 employment and skills training opportunities for youth across Canada in natural resources sectors including energy, forestry, mining, earth sciences and clean technology. Through the Science and Technology Internship Program (STIP) – Green Jobs, employers in natural resources sectors can apply for funding to hire, train and mentor youth aged 15 to 30 for up to 12 months. These job opportunities will ensure that Canada’s natural resources sectors remain a source of economic growth and prosperity in the future. STIP – Green Jobs is part of the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS), which supports youth in gaining the hands-on skills and experience they need to effectively transition into the labour market.

Read More

EU releases controversial EUDR country risk benchmarking amid fierce environmental criticism

By Ian Westcott
New Food Magazine
May 23, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, United States

The European Commission has released its much-anticipated country benchmarking under the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) roughly one month ahead of schedule, marking a key milestone in its enforcement. The benchmarking system classifies countries into “low risk,” “standard risk,” or “high risk” categories based on the likelihood that commodities sourced from these regions contribute to deforestation and forest degradation. However, the benchmarking has immediately drawn strong criticism from environmental groups. Mighty Earth branded the system a “farce” and accused the European Commission of prioritising political convenience over genuine environmental protection. …Mighty Earth points out that some of the world’s highest deforestation hotspots — including Brazil, Bolivia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo — have been omitted from the high-risk list. Meanwhile, countries with documented deforestation issues, such as Canada, Ghana, Papua New Guinea, and Romania, have been labelled low risk. [The United States appears in this list under the “low risk category”].

In related coverage:

Read More

In a world on fire, making the case for burning more

By Matt Simmons
The Narwhal
May 29, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Kevin Kriese

In Smithers, B.C., Kevin Kriese explains why he believes people need to change how they think about wildfire. A former assistant deputy minister with the provincial government and recently retired chair of the B.C. Forest Practices Board, Kriese is now a senior wildfire analyst with the POLIS wildfire resilience project. He’s tall and athletic (an avid skier) and a passionate advocate for land-based solutions to ecological challenges. He speaks with the confidence of someone who has spent his entire career navigating seemingly intractable problems — but admits getting people on board with the idea of living with more fire on the land is no easy task. “Fires do have this destructive force to communities — and they should be stopped from that destruction,” he says. “At the same time, if you understand the ecology, we want more of it. It’s that dichotomy that we’re trying to get at.”

Read More

Better Protecting Communities and Forests: Wildfire Risk Reduction Project Completed Near Merritt

Forest Enhancement Society of BC
May 27, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Merritt, B.C. The Lower Nicola Indian Band Development Corporation (LNIBDC) has completed wildfire risk reduction treatments in the Steffens Estates subdivision, north of the Lower Nicola Indian Band’s Mameet Indian Reserve #1, approximately 17 kilometres north of the city of Merritt. The project, which combined harvesting and post-harvest fuel reduction treatments, was conducted by crews from Shulus Forest Enterprises LP, the forestry division of the LNIBDC, with assistance from Forsite Consultants Ltd. and funding support from the Forest Enhancement Society of BC. The work will help reduce wildfire risk to communities, enhance forest resilience, and maintain critical wildlife features while generating significant economic and employment opportunities for the LNIBDC. …The LNIBDC contracted Forsite to assist in creating the fuel management prescription, which helped guide and monitor the crew’s activities as treatments were implemented, ensuring all required wildfire risk reduction outcomes were achieved.

Read More

Upload Photos Win $$! Alberta Forest Products Association Raffle Contest

Alberta Forest Products Association
May 23, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

To celebrate the dedication of our industry and our collective love for Alberta forests, the Alberta Forest Products Association (AFPA), will be hosting a raffle The prize? Be entered into a draw for a chance to win a $200 Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) or Marks Work Warehouse gift card (choice between the two) and a Love AB Forests merch item of your choosing. The Alberta forest Media Catalogue is an extensive digital archive that houses a wide range of media related to Alberta’s forests and forestry sector. This includes photos, videos, audio files, documents, and more. The catalogue is designed to be a central repository where members can easily upload, tag, share, and search for forestry-related media. 

Read More

Nopiming fire leaves herd of endangered caribou at risk

By Maggie Wilcox
CBC News
May 24, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The southernmost herd of endangered woodland caribou in Manitoba might not be able to recover from wildfire-caused habitat and population losses, experts say. Fire burn patterns and maps suggest a fire that has ravaged more than 100,000 hectares in and west of Nopiming Provincial Park in eastern Manitoba has destroyed a substantial part of the habitat of the Owl-Flintstone caribou herd. Boreal woodland caribou are classified as threatened under the Manitoba Endangered Species Act. There are an estimated 1,500 to 3,000 in the province. Daniel Dupont, a professor at St. Boniface University, is worried that last week’s inferno will weaken the woodland caribou population in several ways.  “The caribou have just lost the habitat where their females give birth from mid-May to June,” Dupont said. …The Nopiming area is home to between 40 and 60 woodland caribou, he said.

Read More

Future of Forestry Think Tank Brings New Innovative Solutions to Forestry

By Teryn Midzain
My Cariboo Now
May 23, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Representatives from across many sectors of the Forestry Industry gathered in Quesnel for the fourth Future of Forestry Think Tank (FFTT). The FFTT was held at Quesnel’s CNC campus on May 21, and 22. Erin Robinson, the Forest Initiatives Manager for the City of Quesnel, says this “grassroots-led, initiative first” conference initially started by gathering different orders of government together to discuss ways to solve issues across Forestry, and find new innovations. “We wanted to figure out what Quesnel can keep doing well, which is forestry,” says Robinson. “Have it start at the grassroots level and then roll changes up to the region, then up to the province.” Some projects that started as learning and brainstorming opportunities from the FFTT have started to become provincial initiatives, like the Forest Landscape Plan Process. Quesnel has one of four Landscape Pilot Projects in the province to reshape sustainable frameworks for forestry.

Read More

Vancouver’s new urban forest strategy faces challenges, academic says

By Lauren Vanderdeen
CBC News
May 25, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Vancouver councillors have approved an updated plan for growing the city’s urban forest, but a forestry professor says there are challenges ahead. The city’s goal is to increase its canopy cover – how much of the city is covered by leaves and branches when seen from above – from about 25 per cent of the city to 30 per cent by 2050, according to the updated urban forest strategy. …Stephen Sheppard, a professor emeritus at the University of B.C.’s forestry faculty, said Vancouver’s 30 per cent canopy cover target is very achievable – but he noted there is cause for concern. In the wake of the B.C. government pushing hard for cities to increase housing density, Sheppard advised councillors to minimize the loss of existing urban trees when approving rezoning proposals. …Multiple councillors pointed out the stark divide in canopy cover between neighbourhoods.

Read More

A collaborative approach to forest management

East Kootenay News Online Weekly
May 24, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Kari Stuart-Smith

Kari Stuart-Smith, a wildlife ecologist and Manager of Biodiversity & Wildlife at Canfor, has dedicated over 30 years to advancing sustainable forest management in the East Kootenay. …One of her notable initiatives is the development of a new Old Growth Management Plan for Canfor’s Tree Farm License (TFL) 14 southwest of Golden. This project involved a collaborative group from Canfor, the Province of BC, First Nations, and Wildsight, with technical guidance from Forsite. Using LiDAR data to assess forest stand structure, the team identified high-quality old growth areas, leading to a plan with higher ecological values than previous models. …Stuart-Smith also played a key role in identifying and developing management strategies for High Conservation Value Areas (HCVAs) in the East Kootenay, a requirement for Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification.

Read More

Plant partnership: fungi help spruce trees fight off budworm attacks

By Bev Betkowski
University of Alberta – Folio
May 23, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Nadir Erbilgin

University of Alberta research is showing how trees and fungi team up to survive and stay healthy against insect attacks — an alliance that could lead to more resilient forests. Endophytes — tiny micro-organisms made up of bacteria and fungi living harmlessly in the tissues of white spruce — help the tree defend itself by producing toxic compounds that repel or kill eastern spruce budworm, the new study showed. The discovery provides a “clear, detailed explanation” of how the fungi help protect the tree against the defoliating insect, says forest entomologist Nadir Erbilgin, a professor in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences who supervised the study. …Knowing specific endophytes can boost tree defences or repel budworms also offers possibilities for selecting, breeding or inoculating trees with beneficial fungal partners, he notes.

Read More

How BC Wildfire Service is fighting misinformation with compassion

By Matt Simmons
Bowen Island Undercurrent
May 23, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Rumours spread like wildfire — and rumours about wildfire are no exception. In Canada’s westernmost province, the BC Wildfire Service is taking to its social media channels to tackle misinformation with an unlikely tool: kindness. Take the term “human caused.” Wildfire agencies use it to describe all wildfires that aren’t started by lightning, but many people have incorrectly conflated that with arson and the idea has taken hold. …This year, you’ll see the government account responding to those comments with a playful, gentle tone and a wealth of facts. Jean Strong, a digital communications officer with the government agency, says her team is trying a new tack this year, after successfully experimenting with the approach during the 2024 wildfire season. …The end goal is to increase public understanding about both the basics and complexities of wildfire science and response, she says.

Read More

When a tree falls in a B.C. forest does anyone hear?

By Gerry Warner
East Kootenay News Weekly e-KNOW
May 25, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Gerry Warner

It’s wildfire season again, a season I’ve always dreaded but now dread even more because thanks to climate change it starts so much earlier than when I was fighting fires in the past. …Incredibly enough, when dangerous wildfires break out today often the first thing our “trained” fire crews do is light a fire. I know this sounds counter-intuitive but it happens all the time. The fires lit are called backfires or controlled burns and they are set to remove “fuel” (trees and brush) between the backfires and the main fire burning out of control which causes it to go out when it hits the burnt over area and runs out of “fuel” to burn. Or so the theory goes. …It was good while it lasted, but in less than a decade, our old growth will be finished and there’ll be nothing left to burn but second growth which burns quickly and easily.

Read More

BC First Nations Forestry Council awards Tsideldel’s Percy Guichon

The Williams Lake Tribune
May 22, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Percy Guichon

Tsideldel First Nation councillor Percy Guichon has been recognized for his dedication to forestry in the Cariboo Chilcotin region. The BC First Nations Forestry Council announced Guichon, also the CEO of Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation, received the Innovation Award, one of the BCFNFC’s Forestry Awards of Excellence. “This prestigious award recognizes Percy’s outstanding leadership in advancing Indigenous-led forest stewardship and creating a collaborative, culturally grounded land management model in British Columbia,” noted a Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation news release. “Many people from our Nations have carried the responsibility of caring for our lands and resources since time immemorial,” said Lennard Joe, Chief Executive Officer of the BC First Nations Forestry Council …Guichon said he is honoured to receive this award on behalf of the team at Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation Ltd., and the Nations that comprise this joint venture.

Read More

Mosaic’s 2025 Wildfire Prevention Strategy Prioritizes Community Safety and Forest Health

Mosaic Forest Management
May 22, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

An early start to the fire season on private forest lands underscores the need for careful planning, investment in protection, and collaboration with communities. An early May fire that began on private lands managed by Mosaic serves as a reminder that wildfire season is here. An unattended campfire is believed to be the cause of the three-hectare wildfire that started near Campbell River. Fortunately, a collaborative effort between local fire departments, BC Wildfire Service, and Mosaic prevented the fire from spreading to nearby homes and businesses. The early season wildfire highlights the importance of being responsive and ready. In a recent Mosaic survey, wildfire risk from human activity was a leading concern for those recreating on private managed forest land. “As a responsible landowner and neighbour, Mosaic is committed to fortifying all lines of defence to help ensure the safety of our communities, landscapes, and resources,” said Steve Mjaaland, Mosaic’s Manager of Forest Protection.

Additional coverage in the Comox Valley Record by Brendan Jure: Mosaic Forest Management releases 2025 Wildfire Prevention Strategy

Read More

Groups recruiting ranchers willing to help limber pine, with funding support available

By Waterton Biosphere Region
The Pincher Creek Echo
May 22, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

Southern Alberta — This season, Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation of Canada and Waterton Biosphere Region are recruiting ranchers willing to help limber pine by testing the effectiveness of identified beneficial management practices for grazing in limber pine habitats. Funding support is available to address potential costs of implementing such practices. Endangered limber pines face threats from white pine blister rust (an introduced fungal disease), mountain pine beetle, changing fire regimes, climate change and human development. Populations are now declining much faster than they are regenerating. Conserving this slow-growing species requires ongoing planting efforts over the long term to ensure rust-resistant seedlings and trees are distributed across their range.

Read More

2025 International Model Forest Network Global Forum

Ontario Woodlot Association
May 27, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

The Eastern Ontario Model Forest (EOMF) and the Ontario Woodlot Association (OWA) are honoured to be organizing the 2025 International Model Forest Network (IMFN) Global Forum to take place from May 26-30th, 2025 in Kemptville, Ontario, Canada at the Kemptville Campus Education and Community Centre. The event will attract up to 200 delegates representing over 60 Model Forests from over 30 countries around the world. The IMFN Global Forum is a business, technical, and networking meeting in which members share knowledge, review their accomplishments, address challenges, and agree on Networkwide and other strategic plans and initiatives for the threeyear period following the Global Forum. …The 2025 IMFN Global Forum will include a series of parallel regional annual governance meetings, a multi-day IMFN Global Forum / IMFN Assembly, an IMFN Climate knowledge consolidation workshop, as well as several one-day field tour options within the host Model Forest to learn from local experiences and landscape governance processes.

Read More

“Fire is not inherently bad” says Fire Archeologist

By Lauren Ella Burke
CBC News
May 23, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

Joanne Miles

Chief Joanne Miles of the Flat Bay Band says people in her community have practiced low-intensity controlled burning for as long as she can remember. When done correctly, she says this can prevent devastating wildfires. The knowledge of how this is done has been passed down through generations. …Several factors are considered before starting a low-intensity controlled burn, Miles said. Elders in her area have learned the seasonal patterns, the moisture levels of the ground and plants, and how to recognize wind changes. Miles said this practice is the reason the Flat Bay area has hardly seen any major forest fires. …Some tribal nations have retained knowledge of the burning connection they had with the Earth, Renick said. The knowledge of others was decimated through colonization, she said.

Read More

Managing forests and other ecosystems under rising threats requires thinking across wide-ranging scenarios

The Conversation
May 27, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

In Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in California, trees that have persisted through rain and shine for thousands of years are now facing multiple threats triggered by a changing climate. Scientists and park managers once thought giant sequoia forests nearly impervious to stressors like wildfire, drought and pests. Yet, even very large trees are proving vulnerable, particularly when those stressors are amplified by rising temperatures and increasing weather extremes. The rapid pace of climate change – combined with threats like the spread of invasive species and diseases – can affect ecosystems in ways that defy expectations based on past experiences… To protect these places, which are valued for their natural beauty and the benefits they provide for recreation, clean water and wildlife, forest and land managers increasingly must anticipate risks they have never seen before. And they must prepare for what those risks will mean for stewardship as ecosystems rapidly transform.

Read More

If a tree falls in the forest, was it a pine? Researchers can now make a good guess

By Zeina Mohammed
Phys.Org
May 26, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

If you’re wondering why squirrels seem to vastly outnumber raccoons—or why certain car brands dominate city streets—a team of University of Virginia researchers may be able to help. Some species are abundant while most are rare. For nearly a century, scientists have sought a mathematical model to describe this pattern, the “hollow curve” species-abundance distribution, found universally within ecological communities. A recent breakthrough by a team within UVA’s Department of Biology seems to have finally cracked this ecological puzzle. By analyzing 30,000 datasets ranging from the distribution of tree species across the United States to bacterial communities living in the human gut, they found that a model called the “powerbend distribution” accurately describes the species abundance across plant, animal and microbial communities. Their findings were published recently in the journal Nature Communications.

Read More

Legal Intervention Aims to Defend Tongass Against Increased Old-Growth Logging

The Center for Biological Diversity
May 28, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: US West

JUNEAU, Alaska— A coalition of conservation groups, Alaska tribes, a commercial fishing advocacy group and an ecotourism operator today filed a request to intervene in a timber industry legal challenge that seeks to revive industrial old-growth logging in the Tongass National Forest. The timber industry litigation, filed March 6, asks a federal court to order the U.S. Forest Service to offer more old-growth trees for timber sales. The plaintiffs — the Alaska Forest Association, Viking Lumber Co. and Alcan Timber Co. — contend the Forest Service violated the law by announcing the Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy, or SASS, in 2021 and not offering enough large old-growth timber sales to meet government-estimated market demands. The groups seeking to intervene in the case argue that current forest management is legal and supports a sustainable regional economy that has flourished in recent years as the Tongass has started to recover from large-scale industrial logging.

Read More

Utility companies update AZ Corporation Commission on wildfire mitigation efforts

By David Bolla
The Payson Roundup
May 27, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: US West

As Arizona utility companies make aggressive plans to mitigate wildfire risks, many met in Payson to update a state regulatory body. On May 15, the Arizona Corporation Commission hosted a special open meeting on wildfire mitigation at the Payson Public Library. ACC Vice-Chairman Nick Myers moderated the nearly three-hour town hall, which included stakeholder presentations from Arizona Public Service, Tucson Electric Power & UniSource, Salt River Project, Navopache Electric Cooperative, Alliant Gas, Arizona Water Company, and the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management. Following brief opening remarks and commissioner comments, utility companies from throughout the state provided insight and information regarding their ongoing wildfire mitigation efforts. The electric companies focused on both grid hardening and creating defensible space around their infrastructure, before providing updates about each of their Public Safety Power Shutoff programs.

Read More

Court denies request to halt logging activity in Elwha Watershed

By Emma Maple
Peninsula Daily News
May 27, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

PORT ANGELES – The Clallam County Superior Court denied environmentalists’ request for an administrative stay on two local Department of Natural Resources parcels, although it granted a motion to compel information from the state agency. If the stay had been granted, it would have barred logging-related activities for 90 days on the parcels named Parched and Tree Well. The motion to compel will require the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to file administrative records relevant to the case by June 18 – a five-month delay from the original required date of Jan. 2. The logging rights for these two forests were bought by Oregon-based Murphy Company in December. …These organizations have lawsuits filed on several other sales in Clallam and Jefferson Counties, as well. …In addition to the motions, activists have blocked access to the parcel titled “Parched” since May 7 by engaging in a tree sit.

Read More

Slowly dying trees impact forest recovery post-wildfires, according to study of 2020 fires

By Cristina Rojas
Portland State University
May 27, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Across the western U.S., wildfires are becoming larger and more severe — and even trees that initially survive are dying in subsequent years, making it harder for forests to regenerate, according to new research from Portland State University. Building on previous research exploring fire refugia — the green islands of live trees that remain after forest fires — researchers in PSU’s Global Environmental Change lab mapped annual changes in the extent of live tree cover up to three years after the unprecedented 2020 Labor Day fires in Oregon’s western Cascades. The study quantifies changes in the spatial distribution and attributes of fire refugia as a result of delayed tree mortality. …there is potential for delayed fire effects to cause trees to die in subsequent years, including direct burn injuries as well as a combination of direct and indirect effects related to climate, insects, pathogens and heatwaves. 

Read More

The rate at which California trees are dying hits 10-year low

By Ryan Curry
KCRA Sacramento
May 23, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The rate at which trees are dying in California has hit a 10-year low, according to a survey from the U.S. Forest Service. Trees were dying at an alarming rate from 2015 to 2018, but after significant snow and rainfall in recent years, trees are getting their necessary nutrients. “We’ve had a couple good years of precipitation,” said Jeffrey Moore, aerial survey manager with the Forest Service. “We expected the amount of mortality to start tapering off, and indeed that was the case.” Severe droughts, he says, are the main culprits for the amount of trees that die. Less water means fewer nutrients, which then allows for a greater chance of trees to get disease or infected with bugs that feed on dry bark.

Read More

Conservation coalition joins lawsuit protecting northern spotted owl

By Robert Schaulis
Eureka Times Standard
May 23, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

A coalition of conservation groups announced it has intervened in a lawsuit that seeks to remove almost 3.5 million acres of land in California, Oregon and Washington from protected status. …“This is a tired story: the timber industry attempting to game the legal system in order to expand logging on our public lands,” said Tom Wheeler, executive director of Arcata-based Environmental Protection Information Center, in a joint press release issued by the coalition. “Unfortunately for them, they have to come through us first. We have stood up for the northern spotted owls and science for decades, and we aren’t backing down.” …The lawsuit, filed by timber industry representatives from the American Forest Resource Council — along with a coalition of counties in Washington, Oregon and California and the Association of O&C Counties — contends that a November 2021 rule change by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is illegal.

Read More

The Debate that American Conservationists Should Be Having On The Endangered Species Act

By Emma Marris
The Atlantic
May 26, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

The Endangered Species Act was intended to protect ecosystems as well as individual species but it has no provisions to do so directly. For decades, conservationists successfully plugged that hole by arguing in court that the ESA’s prohibition of harm to individual species includes destroying a species’ habitat. Now the Trump administration wants to negate that argument by asserting that to harm an endangered species means only to injure or kill it directly: to rip it out by the roots or blow it away with a shotgun. Habitat destruction has been the most common threat to endangered species in the US since 1975. If the administration succeeds in redefining harm to exclude it, the Endangered Species Act won’t be able to effectively protect most endangered species. …Preserving old-growth forest for a single owl species means the forest—and everything living there—suddenly loses protection if that owl goes extinct anyway. [to access the full story an Atlantic subscription is required]

Read More

Washington state environmental solutions discussed at policy forum in Spokane

By Sue Lani Madsen
Everett Post
May 23, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: US West

Mike Lithgow, director of policy and outreach for the Kalispel Tribe joined panelists Amanda Parrish, executive director of The Lands Council, and Todd Myers, vice president for research at the Washington Policy Center, for the 2025 Forum on the Environment in Spokane. Parrish introduced her organization’s work with the Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition, the U.S. Forest Service, and regional tribes. The Lands Council is currently working with the city of Spokane’s urban forestry program to plant trees in low-income neighborhoods. …On a broader scale, the Kalispel Tribe reaches out from their small reservation in collaborative work across 2.3 million acres of Washington, Idaho, Montana and British Columbia, Canada. Lithgow said the tribe focuses on restoration, which might not be high on the list for other partners. In addition to water, their conservation efforts include forests and wildlife. Forest management in Washington is a concern going into the summer, owing to the potential for wildfires. 

Read More

How prescribed burns are reshaping Southern Oregon forests and communities

By Juliet Grable
Jefferson Public Radio
May 23, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: US West

In fire-prone Southern Oregon, residents of the Greensprings joined forces to carry out a 12-acre prescribed burn… The effort reflects a growing movement to use“good fire” to reshape landscapes and build community resilience. …The volunteers — a mix of firefighters, Greensprings residents, and fire experts with the Rogue Valley Prescribed Burn Association — were there to put “good fire” on a 12-acre triangle of land owned by Deb Evans and Ron Schaaf. …In fire-prone Southern Oregon, intentionally setting fire to a forested hillside might seem reckless, especially as summers have grown hotter and wildfire seasons more intense. But under the right conditions, fire can burn away vegetation that would otherwise fuel dangerous wildfires in warmer, drier months, helping protect homes and forests before the next wildfire strikes. Now, a growing number of residents are learning how to use prescribed burns to make their communities safer.

Read More

Public land sales and repeals of Colorado resource management plans stripped from House reconciliation package

By Ali Longwell
The Aspen Times
May 23, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: US West

U.S. House Republicans narrowly passed a budget reconciliation bill early Thursday morning that pushes forward President Donald Trump’s domestic policy on health care, energy, immigration, and more. …Included in the package were provisions pushing Trump and Republicans’ policy around increasing domestic energy, timber and mineral production, and restoring the federal multiple-use mandate on public land. …House Democrats in the committee, who have criticized Trump’s reconciliation package as a way to fund tax cuts for billionaires, referred to the legislation as one of the most destructive and extreme anti-environment bills in the country’s history. …Now, the big bill is heading to the Senate, where advocates are hopeful changes will continue to be made. Louis Geltman, the vice president of policy and government relations for the recreation member group Outdoor Alliance, said in a statement that the act is still “very bad for public lands and waters.”

Read More

Don’t be fooled by Tongass Roadless Rule propaganda

By Rich Moniak, retired civil engineer, U.S. Forest Service
Anchorage Daily News
May 22, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

By executive order, President Donald Trump reinstated the Tongass National Forest Roadless Rule exemption, reversing action taken by President Joe Biden in January 2023. For Alaska-based environmental organizations, that means redeploying propaganda about how much of the old-growth forest in the Tongass could be subjected to large-scale logging. And they often get help from journalists and opinion writers who don’t do their homework. …In a joint press release responding to the Biden administration’s plan to consider restoring the Roadless Rule …Rep. Don Young accurately described that “only 9 percent of the Tongass is available for any kind of development.” …Environmentalists have a choice. They acknowledge these facts and stop challenging the Roadless Rule exemption for the Tongass. Or they can continue undermining their credibility by peddling the kind of disinformation that’s making our political discourse so toxic.

Read More

Lush nature preserve near Lake Michigan added to nationwide roster of old forests

Michigan Live
May 26, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

Thousands of acres of deep-woods habitats at Arcadia Dunes are now part of a nationwide network of current and future old-growth forests. The wooded areas at the C.S. Mott Nature Preserve in Benzie County this week became the latest place in Michigan to be inducted into the Old-Growth Forest Network, which now includes more than 270 permanently protected forests nationwide. The forest near the Lake Michigan shoreline boasts unique microclimates teeming with old beech and hemlock trees, spring wildflowers, and rare native plants. Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy hosted a two-mile hike Wednesday, May 21, along the preserve’s Dryhill Trail Chestnut Loop to celebrate the northern mesic forest being added to the nationwide old-growth roster. The nature preserve is the conservancy’s largest and includes a mix of secondary hardwoods, coastal dunes, and open fields around old farmland and pastures.

Read More

Protecting Maine’s forests from spruce budworm takes all of us

By Allison Kanoti, Maine state entomologist & Patty Cormier, Maine state forester
Bangor Daily News
May 23, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

…Today, populations of spruce budworm are once again building, slowly but surely, on hundreds of thousands of acres in northern Maine. The good news is, we’re not starting from scratch, and we’re not waiting to intervene. This spring, a coalition of forestry stakeholders, including landowners, scientists, industry partners, and state and federal government agencies, is taking a science-based approach to spruce budworm management through the Early Intervention Strategy. Approximately 240,000 acres of budding budworm populations will be treated with narrowly targeted insecticides in late May and early June. …This year’s treatment blocks were selected months in advance and supported by research, monitoring, ownership and forest composition data. …We also invite landowners to take advantage of the vast number of resources on sprucebudwormmaine.org.

Read More

Supporting reforestation after Carbon County Packerton fire

By Emily Kress
WNEP 16 ABC News
May 23, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: US East

Jim Thorpe – Pennsylvania — It was a sight like no other, last month, smoke clouded the air as a wildfire spread on Bear Mountain in Jim Thorpe. The fire burned 500 acres in what the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources called the Packerton fire. “We are really still evaluating; it’s probably still too early to tell. Certainly, some trees got killed in that process, and we are still evaluating how extensive the damage was, explained Seth Cassell, Director of the Bureau of Forestry with DCNR.  On Arbor Day, DCNR launched an online donation drive for communities impacted by wildfires. … Officials with DCNR say there are several types of trees that make up the forests of Carbon County. “Where the fire was, there is often pine trees, oak trees, we see a lot of chestnut oak trees in those areas, and some of those trees are there because of repeat fires in those areas.”

Read More

More trees in Wayne National Forest to be cut after executive order

By George Shillcock
WOUB Public Media
May 23, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: US East

©Ohio, The Heart of it All

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Trump administration wants to increase harvesting in the more than 100 million acres of national forests and is targeting Ohio’s only national forest as part of the effort. Ohio is home to the Wayne National Forest — nearly 244,000 acres with three non-contiguous tracts near Athens, Marietta and Ironton. The Wayne is teeming with life this time of year with thousands of species of plant life and dozens of mammals, birds and fish calling the quarter of a million acres of forest home. President Donald Trump wants to expand American timber production in the nation’s national forests by 25%. A March executive order said cutting more trees will boost the construction and energy industries and also improve forest management to reduce wildfire risk. …The Trump administration hopes the executive order will jumpstart the nation’s lumber industry. Some in the industry are skeptical of how much this could help in the long run.

Read More

Weyerhaeuser Acquiring High-Quality Timberlands in North Carolina and Virginia

By Weyerhaeuser Company
PR Newswire
May 22, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

Weyerhaeuser announced an agreement to acquire approximately 117,000 acres of high-quality timberlands in North Carolina and Virginia from Roanoke Timberlands, a subsidiary of Roseburg Forest Products, for $375 million. Comprised of mature, highly productive timberlands, the acreage will be well-integrated with existing Weyerhaeuser timberland and mill operations in North Carolina, will expand the company’s footprint into attractive markets in southeastern Virginia and will offer substantial alternative value opportunities. …Mature planted pine age class expected to produce an average annual harvest of 7.4 tons per acre (or 860,000 tons) over the first five years. …The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter and is subject to customary closing conditions. …When the acquisition is complete, Weyerhaeuser will own or manage approximately 744,000 acres of timberlands in North Carolina and 150,000 acres in Virginia — employing more than 600 people across the two states.

Read More

Consultation begins on new environmental standards for forestry sector

Inside Government New Zealand
May 29, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

The Government has opened public consultation on proposed amendments to the National Environmental Standards for Commercial Forestry (NES-CF), aimed at restoring national consistency and protecting the sector’s right to operate. Minister of Forestry Todd McClay said the proposed changes were about “getting foresters and wood processors back in the driver’s seat and stopping councils from using their plans to rewrite the rules on forestry through the back door”. “Our fibre sector – from forestry to wood processors – plays a crucial role in New Zealand’s economy, particularly in regional communities,” Mr McClay says. The current NES-CF was designed to provide a nationally consistent framework for managing the environmental effects of plantation forestry. However, recent changes have allowed councils to bypass that intent by imposing more stringent rules without justification – a trend that is now undermining investment and confidence in the sector, said the Minister.

Read More

Trees Synchronize Their Bio-electrical Signals During Solar Eclipses: ‘The Wood Wide Web in Action’

Good News Network
May 26, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

More evidence that trees display group cognition and communication has arrived from the Dolomites where a multidisciplinary team monitored a forest during a solar eclipse. Their research witnessed two things, that the trees of the forest synchronized bioelectrical activity during the eclipse, and that the process of synchronization was started and directed by the eldest trees—a full 14 hours before the eclipse even started. The results of their experiment, which was published in Royal Society Open Science, demonstrate both the incredible value of old trees to the forests in which they live, but also the extent to which our woody cousins respond to their environment… The two older trees in the study, about 70 years old, had a much more pronounced early response to the impending eclipse than the young tree.

Read More

‘A gut punch’ – Ireland has the fewest trees in Europe

By James Wilson
Newstalk
May 26, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Centuries ago, around 80% of Ireland’s green landscape was covered in trees – many of which were hundreds of years old. The arrival of modern agriculture changed that now less than 1% of the island is covered by ancient woodland. The Government hopes to reverse this historic trend and is aiming to cover 18% of the State in trees by 2050. Businesses are getting involved as well; Wolfman Digital bought a plot of land seven-years ago and staff were bussed out to plant trees on it. “Back in 2017, we decided we wanted to become carbon neutral,” CEO Alan Coleman said. “We were looking into our different options and we learnt three things about forests that really made us feel strongly that we wanted to start planting trees. “The first thing we learnt is that forestry is one of the strongest solutions to global warming.”

Read More

Young trees face ‘make or break’ moment as drought reshapes Europe’s forests

By Wageningen University
Phys.Org
May 26, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

The future of the European forests is at risk due to our changing climate. To observe the effects of climate change, we often look at the large trees. But the young trees are the future of the forest and are also the most vulnerable. The current drought is the biggest threat to young trees. A recent study published in Ecological Modelling by Wageningen University & Research and forest inventory institutes from 11 EU countries highlights new signals in the critical young phase of the forest. Forest rejuvenation—the process in which new trees establish themselves and start to grow—is very important for the future forest structure, biodiversity, growth and resilience of the forest. When new trees start to grow, it marks the beginning of an important process. This phase is crucial for the future forest. Predicting forest regeneration at a European scale was very limited.

Read More

Eleven countries demand EU weakens deforestation law further, document shows

By Kate Abnet
Reuters in Offshore Engineer
May 26, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

BRUSSELS – According to a document obtained by, 11 governments are urging the European Union to delay or weaken its upcoming deforestation law. This policy, a world first, aims to stop the 10% global deforestation caused by EU imports of soy, beef and palm oil, among other products. However, it has become a controversial part of Europe’s environmental agenda. After complaints from Brazil and the US and a reduction in reporting rules, the EU has already delayed its launch for a year, until Dec. 2025. The Commission announced last week that it would spare most countries from the strictest checks. A group of eleven countries led by Austria, Luxembourg and Germany, have demanded that the European Commission further simplify the rules and delay the application date. …The countries’ paper, that the EU agriculture ministers in Brussels will be discussing on Monday, said the requirements are “disproportionate” to the regulation’s goal.

Read More